Building heat resilience means building effective communication networks, so you can reach people before the next heat wave hits. Awareness of extreme heat, its impacts, and what people and decision-makers can do is critical to keep everyone safe.
Current communication systems, however, are not designed for extreme heat and aren’t reaching the communities most impacted by it. This is especially true for linguistically isolated groups; about 10% of people in Massachusetts report speaking English less than “very well,” and language barriers can keep people from taking protective action. Networks need to be built to reach all our community members, and they need to be built ahead of an emergency heat event.
In order to bridge this gap, MAPC and our partners launched the Lower Mystic Cool Communications campaign, a set of ready-to-use, customizable materials that any municipality or organization can adapt to communicate heat risk and promote heat preparedness in their own community. Because reaching linguistically isolated residents is central to the effort, all materials are available in six languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Arabic, and Simplified Chinese. These include:
- Stay Cool Materials support heat preparedness in the days before a heat event. These customizable materials include a pre-translated HeatMessage Library and two Canva design kits. They are built to be shared through social media, printed flyers, and messaging apps whenever extreme heat is forecasted.
- Building a Cool Culture goes beyond traditional messaging, using creative storytelling and community-led engagement led by local artists to reach residents in ways standard alerts can't. This work is packaged as a free, reusable Cool CommunicationsArts Toolbox that any community can bring into its own heat engagement.
- The Elements of an Effective Municipal Heat Relief Website, a companion guide, offers practical recommendations for making sure your city or town's online heat resources are accessible to residents.
You can explore and use the full set here.
One of the most powerful tools to come out of this work is storytelling. As part of Building a Cool Culture, artist Daphne Lundi developed a Heat Oral History toolkit. Over the past few months, we’ve taken the toolkit – and plenty of curiosity – to local events in Malden and Museum of Science. What we uncovered is a vibrant tapestry of community experience: joyful childhood summer memories, ingenious cooling tips, and honest reflections on navigating a rapidly warming environment.
"My parents always tell me the Chinese idiom 'Xin Jing Zi Ran Liang' — 'when your heart is calm, you naturally feel cool.' When I think of the things and people I love, I feel peaceful, and I feel better." - Heat Storytelling Project
We're sharing these stories all season through our new Heat Storytelling newsletter. Sign up here.
MAPC and our partners offer additional resources to help you get the word out:
- MAPC Extreme Heat Resources Library: MAPC has compiled a list of resources that may be helpful to municipalities who want to help residents stay cool and healthy this summer. This includes a communications and social media toolkit that outlines how to prepare for heat events, what to do during heat events, and best practices to help you get the word out!
- Cool it with Art Guide: a guide for local governments, community-based organizations, and artists interested in working together to promote creative approaches to address climate-driven extreme heat impacts and to promote healthy, climate resilient communities.
We'll be back tomorrow with more. Until then, if you have a heat or cooling story of your own, we'd love to hear it! Share your story here.