Groundwork USA is an environmental
non-profit consisting of 20 trusts across
the nation.
They focus on enhancing
the well-being of marginalized communities
through various projects.
Our non-profit is dedicated
to creating more healthier urban or more resilient
communities.
We do this through urban stewardship
programs, we work with high school youth,
revitalizing our environments and improving
our shared urban environments.
Climate Safe Neighborhoods
is one of Groundworks projects aimed at addressing
and reducing the risks of heat and flooding
in urban areas.
Part of their efforts include mapping out
these risks to inform their communities.
To do this, the NASA DEVELOP Program
partnered with Groundwork USA to provide heat
and flooding distribution maps, specifically
in 2 of the organization's locations:
Providence, Rhode Island, and Elizabeth, New
Jersey.
Providence, the capitol
of Rhode Island, sits along the Providence
River and is known for its' thriving arts
community
and multiple higher eduction institutions.
To the west of Newark Bay sits Elizabeth,
New Jersey.
A hub for travel and transportation,
the city houses some of the busiest air and
shipping ports in the nation.
Both of these cities face a unique combination
of threats.
Their high urbanization and proximity to bodies
of water leads to pockets of extreme land
surface temperatures and more frequent flooding
events.
Using NASA Earth observations,
land surface temperature maps combined with
land cover classification, highlighted areas
at risk for extreme temperatures.
Flood distribution was assessed over 30 years
to produce annual and decadal maps to show
the areas with high risk of flooding.
Using these maps, Groundwork can take these findings, inform
the public, and apply the
methodology to local trusts across the nation.
Getting residents in low
resource neighborhoods the data that they
need to make informed decisions about how
to protect their people,
networks, their businesses, and their homes
from the consequences of climate change.
