Study looks at how San Antonio tackles extreme heat
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Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
UT San Antonio researchers are studying just how hot some neighborhoods get during the summer, and how much city efforts — like adding more trees — actually cool them down.
Why it matters: Heat tends to be worse in urban areas where roads, buildings and parking lots trap heat, known as the urban heat island effect.
- Areas where people have lower incomes are especially vulnerable to the effects of extreme heat, as they can lack trees and other resources.
The big picture: The city and UT San Antonio have mapped these vulnerable areas, finding the urban core is particularly exposed.
State of play: As a result, the city launched the Cool Neighborhoods Program, which concentrates heat relief measures in areas the researchers found to be vulnerable.
- Those measures include: installing cool pavement, a water-based asphalt that reflects more sunlight; offering energy-efficient cool roofs to some homeowners; increasing the number and size of trees; and "weatherizing" homes through renovations like sealing windows and doors to keep cool air inside.
- The neighborhoods included in the program are on the South Side near Harlandale High School; the East Side south of the Frost Bank Center; and two areas on the near West Side around Lanier High School and near Cassiano Park.
Zoom in: UT San Antonio researchers Esteban López Ochoa, associate professor of urban and regional planning, and Farzad Hashemi, assistant professor in the School of Architecture and Planning, are now studying the impact of the Cool Neighborhoods Program on local temperatures.
- The research began in the fall of 2024 and is funded through the end of 2026, set to capture two summers' worth of data.
- The team leaves a sensor in a home that tracks the temperatures before and after the home receives certain program benefits, like a new cool roof.
- They tell Axios they're also working with CPS Energy to determine if a home's energy use decreases after participating in the city programs.
What they're saying: "We haven't seen research done at this level of detail," López Ochoa tells Axios, saying the two-year study makes it unique.
- "We've been able to make changes as the research team has been seeing what's coming in," Leslie Antunez, sustainability administrator with the city, tells Axios. "If something's not working, then we can say this doesn't work because of this reason."
Context: López Ochoa and Hashemi have experience working with the sensors after spending years studying how housing conditions affect heat on the near West Side.
- They found that older homes are often equipped with just window air conditioning units, which sometimes can't properly cool down a house.
- Residents often leave the units off during the day to save money, and come home from work to indoor temperatures up to 120 degrees.
What's next: City officials will decide how to move forward with heat relief plans based on the research findings, which will be presented after the study concludes at the end of the year.