09/04/2026
What Can We Learn from Phoenix?
Last week our team along with our partners at CCV hit the road to Phoenix to see how another desert community is building real infrastructure to protect people from extreme heat!
We were joined by members of our EHCRP CBO advisory group: The Becoming Project, Lideres Campesinas, and Our Roots Multicultural Center.
We toured a mix of heat-relief infrastructure and community-led projects including:
Shaded sidewalks designed to make walking survivable in summer
A library doubling as a cooling center
A respite center, where we were able to speak with residents about how these spaces serve people
A parks and tree-planting program, splash pads, and the Maryvale Loop
As well as a CBO site that packs a cooling center, a free medical clinic, and a community garden that provides fresh organic produce all in one place!
Most of all, we got to meet with local residents who interact with these structures and initiatives in their community daily. They gave us real insights into what’s working, and what it takes to keep people safe when the heat hits triple digits!
Imperial Valley faces the same brutal summers.
Solutions exist, our next step is to build them here!
Follow us to learn more about what that looks like!
¿Qué podemos aprender de Phoenix?
La semana pasada nuestro equipo, junto con nuestros compañeros de CCV, viajamos a Phoenix para ver cómo otra comunidad del desierto está construyendo infraestructura para proteger a la gente del calor extremo.
Nos acompañaron integrantes de nuestro grupo asesor de organizaciones comunitarias del EHCRP: The Becoming Project, Líderes Campesinas y Our Roots Multicultural Center.
Recorrimos varios proyectos de alivio del calor hechos por y para la comunidad, entre ellos:
Banquetas con sombra, para que caminar en verano no sea un peligro
Una biblioteca que también funciona como centro de enfriamiento
Un centro de descanso, donde pudimos platicar con vecinos sobre cómo estos lugares ayudan a la gente
Una programa de parques y siembra de árboles, chapoteaderos y el Maryvale Loop
También visitamos una organización comunitaria que junta en un solo lugar un centro de enfriamiento, una clínica médica g
