Description

Redlining and Climate Change is a resource that can be done completely remotely and was adapted in April 2020 for two classes taught post-COVID.

The introductory resources and readings focus on defining redlining and the impacts of urban tree canopy cover on mitigating temperatures. These can be assigned in addition to a short lecture on how urban ecological systems work and the drivers of urban heat island effect. 

The worksheet is based around a few resources, including Hoffman et al. 2020, a paper that shows trends in impervious surface cover, land surface temperature, and canopy cover in cities that were historically redlined in the US. It has students interpret findings, write a plain language abstract, and also explore redlining and inequity in highway building in the Twin Cities. 

Finally, there is an optional extension of the activity to include a more 'solutions-driven' perspective, where students work individually or in small teams to develop a 'bid' to create greenspace in a historically red-lined neighborhood to promote environmental justice and mitigate the impacts of climate change in the neighborhood. 

Cite this work