SG-04

PROJECT INFORMATION

Citizen consultation and mapping on green areas and their role in public health, case: extreme heat in Mexico City

Principal investigator (PI):

Leticia Gómez Mendoza, Colegio de Geografía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

E-mail:  leticiagomez@filos.unam.mx

Phone: +52 55 27 709 737

Duration & funding:

(September 2023–2024) USD 15,000

Co-funding offered:

USD 4,736

Participating countries: 

México

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Large cities worldwide are experiencing an increase in temperatures associated with climate change and the replacement of green areas with asphalt surfaces and buildings. Intertropical cities are also experiencing increased heat waves that can have severe consequences for the vulnerable population. Heat strokes are the consequence of these heat waves in the human body, ranging from dehydration to myocardial infarctions. Mexico City has reported an increase in heat waves, but at the same time, its green areas, which can function as thermal buffers against climate change, have decreased. This proposal will evaluate the effect of the presence of green areas on cases of diseases associated with heat stroke in two regions of the Special Green Infrastructure Program of Mexico City. The work will contemplate the open science framework incorporating citizen consultation of mayors, towns, native neighborhoods, and resident indigenous communities. The results can be used to identify red spots of vulnerability and plan health services to care for and prevent these conditions.