SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio is one of 14 cities piloting a Google-powered artificial intelligence tool to understand better how tree coverage and reflective surfaces can mitigate the urban heat island effect.
The tool that Google researchers control addresses extreme heat by applying artificial intelligence to satellite and aerial imagery to help cities “quantify how to reduce surface temperatures with cooling interventions, like planting trees and installing highly reflective surfaces like cool roofs,” according to Google.
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Research shows that heat vulnerability affected by climate change often has two drivers: socioeconomic disparities and the urban heat island effect. Both are common in some of the communities participating in the Google pilot program, especially in San Antonio.
Google, in its release, cited two instances where the tool supported heat mitigation efforts. One of these included city officials in Stockton, California, who utilized an older version of the tool to gather data for potential projects aimed at reducing the urban heat island.
A spokesperson for the media agency that shared the release confirmed San Antonio was one of the cities participating in the pilot program alongside Austin, Boulder, Phoenix and other cities.
KSAT contacted the City of San Antonio’s Office of Sustainability to ask if the tool has been utilized in their work thus far.
“Yes, we have been in communication with Google and following the release of their AI tool,” said Leslie Antunez, a spokesperson for the office. “We are currently focusing our heat mitigation efforts around the UTSA heat equity data, and hottest neighborhoods as identified by their research. But we are always looking at ways to augment or support the planning and decision making with other tools available.”
In an effort to continue forwarding its Cool Pavement program, the city partnered with the Sustainable Pervasive Urban Resilience Center at UTSA to measure heat vulnerability in areas of San Antonio disproportionately affected by extreme heat.
A team of UTSA researchers and graduate students delivered an assessment of heat vulnerability in San Antonio.
The results from several joint city and UTSA studies are expected to support the planning and implementation of heat mitigation measures, such as green and shade infrastructure, according to a May Office of Sustainability news release.
One way this data has been implemented is through the city’s Cool Neighborhood Program, a follow-up to its Cool Pavement initiative.
Antunez, in a July KSAT story, said the program is focusing efforts in City Council Districts 2, 3 and 5, as they were the hottest districts, according to the UTSA data.
Moreover, last September, UTSA and the Southwest Research Institute formed a research partnership to measure “felt heat” on the West Side.
Dr. Esteban López Ochoa, a UTSA professor and one of the project’s researchers, defined felt heat as “a more complete way to measure heat that includes additional metrics that aim to capture more closely how people experience heat.”
Efforts were made here because the West Side boasts a disproportionate amount of tree coverage compared to other parts of the city. Less tree coverage then allows paved surfaces to absorb heat, further driving temperatures.
“More paved areas are constantly absorbing heat and radiation from the sun, which is constantly being released into their atmosphere,” López Ochoa said. “It is like having a heater constantly on in the middle of the summer.”