What question did this study set out to answer?

Investigate how urban heat resilience is conceptualized and implemented through public cool spaces, evaluating the governance, efficacy, and equity implications of current heat management strategies.

August 14, 2026Regional Environmental ChangeOpen Access

Escaping the heat: urban heat resilience and public cool spaces

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Authors

FCFreya ConnorKing's College London AGAnna E. GooddenKing's College London JPJames J. PorterUniversity of Leeds

Discussion

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Implication

Qualitative policy study finds shortcomings in public cool space initiatives, indicating that reactive measures fail to resolve underlying housing inequities during extreme heat.

Key Points

Investigate how urban heat resilience is conceptualized and implemented through public cool spaces, evaluating the governance, efficacy, and equity implications of current heat management strategies.
Conducted semi-structured interviews with practitioners and policy officials (n = 16) responsible for extreme heat management in London.
The cool spaces scheme prioritized short-term, reactive resilience over resolving structural housing deficiencies that exacerbate heat exposure.
Absence of a shared definition or management framework for heat resilience created operational misalignment between intended and actual space use.
Current policies depoliticize extreme heat risk by transferring the burden of thermal protection onto individual citizens rather than addressing structural vulnerabilities.

Cite This Study

Connor et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a7ec775b70b84ec8b913cc6 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-026-02652-5

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August 14, 2026Regional Environmental ChangeOpen Access

Escaping the heat: urban heat resilience and public cool spaces

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Authors

FCFreya ConnorKing's College London AGAnna E. GooddenKing's College London JPJames J. PorterUniversity of Leeds

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Qualitative policy study finds shortcomings in public cool space initiatives, indicating that reactive measures fail to resolve underlying housing inequities during extreme heat.

Key Points

Investigate how urban heat resilience is conceptualized and implemented through public cool spaces, evaluating the governance, efficacy, and equity implications of current heat management strategies.
Conducted semi-structured interviews with practitioners and policy officials (n = 16) responsible for extreme heat management in London.
The cool spaces scheme prioritized short-term, reactive resilience over resolving structural housing deficiencies that exacerbate heat exposure.
Absence of a shared definition or management framework for heat resilience created operational misalignment between intended and actual space use.
Current policies depoliticize extreme heat risk by transferring the burden of thermal protection onto individual citizens rather than addressing structural vulnerabilities.

Cite This Study

Connor et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a7ec775b70b84ec8b913cc6 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-026-02652-5

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