Title
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health and Climate Solutions Grant (Ordinance S-45486)
Description
Request authorization for the City Manager, or his designee, to apply for, accept, and enter into an agreement, and disburse a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health and Climate Solutions Grant. Further request authorization for the City Controller to disburse all funds related to this item.
Report
Summary
The City of Phoenix was selected to submit a full proposal to compete for a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health and Climate Solutions Grant of $350,000 for a 24-month project. This opportunity seeks to develop and amplify the evidence around a set of established approaches that improve community health and well-being and advance health equity, while also addressing climate change adaption or mitigation.
The City's proposal will focus on HeatReady Phoenix, a project that mitigates the negative impact of rising urban temperatures on low-income communities, with a focus on our most vulnerable residents and people of color. The proposal focuses on two initiatives of the project: We're Cool and Community Tree Shade. We're Cool connects transit-dependent residents to cooling centers during times of extreme heat, and the Community Tree Shade initiative empowers volunteers to plant and maintain trees to support the City's tree and shade goals. The proposal aims to quantify the positive impacts of both initiatives, use data to maximize the benefits for low-income residents, and share our findings with other cities.
The target area for our proposal is a contiguous area beginning in Downtown Phoenix and stretching to West Phoenix, including Edison-Eastlake, Central Park and Grant Park neighborhoods and a portion of Maryvale. The area is 31 square miles with 137,000 residents. The majority are people of color living below the poverty level. The target area experiences surface temperatures as high as 130 degrees during summer months, due to lack of tree shade and expanses of paved surfaces.
The City is partnering with Arizona State University's Global Institute of Sustainability and Maricopa County Department of Health, Office of Epidemiology.
Financial Impact
The grant total is $350,000 over a 24-month period.
Location
This contiguous focus area includes portions of Districts 4, 5, 7, and 8.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Karen Peters and the City's Chief Service Officer.