Roanoke heat resilience project set for opening event at Melrose Library
From high schoolers measuring heat and presenting their findings on the national stage to churchgoers discussing Bible-based responses to urban heat; from murals to park designs; from strengthening local organizations to planting trees – the HOPE for Heat Resilience team has been busy throughout northwest Roanoke for the past year.
The project, funded by the National Science Foundation, brought attention to the city as the leaders sought to implement "The Roanoke Method" — a trauma-informed, grassroots way of engaging the community in solving problems and creating plans, according to a new release from HOPE organization.
The project sought to respond to a problem that Roanoke shares with other cities, the Urban Heat Island Effect. Due to a larger concentration of concrete and lower levels of cooling vegetation, cities tend to be significantly hotter than the surrounding countryside. On hot days, this poses problems for those who are vulnerable: elders, children, medically fragile persons, those without air conditioning, and those who work outside, according to the release.
The most vulnerable neighborhoods in Roanoke generally correspond with those seeing higher concentrations of poverty and crime.
Researchers from Virginia Tech and Roanoke College, in partnership with local leaders, worked with local organizations such as the HOPE Center, Goodwill, and the West End Center. The project included a team of eight high school students with ties to the northwest community who became leaders in planning and advocacy, and who presented at national-level events with other NSF grant recipients, according to the release.
The public is invited to a poster display that summarizes many of the project's impacts on Roanoke's northwest neighborhoods. A special opening event, featuring project leaders who will discuss their experiences, will occur at the Melrose Library on Wednesday, Oct. 23, from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. Refreshments will be served; all are welcome.
The display will be shown at the Melrose Library until Nov. 4, when the exhibit will be moved to the Noel C. Taylor Municipal Building, according to the release.
