Opinion | 'We have a growing public health crisis around the fact that our summer temperatures are steadily rising. ... At the same time, our city codes and infrastructure just aren’t keeping up.'
As we consider all the ways to make Denver a more equitable home for all our neighbors, there’s likely an issue that hasn’t yet made everyone’s list, though it impacts thousands each summer.and a disparate lack of access to efficient cooling for far too many residents.
To help better understand the issue, we worked with Open Answer, an organization focused on survey work to elevate community voice and input, to hold one-on-one interviews in neighborhoods to collect real-time understandings of respondents’ summer living conditions. Denver neighborhoods surveyed include Valverde, Sun Valley, Elyria Swansea, Westwood, Globeville and Northeast Park Hill, where we know inequities already exist.
A wealth of research makes it clear that high temperatures exacerbate underlying conditions such as asthma, heart disease, mental illness and diabetes. Without any underlying conditions, extreme heat has been proven to cause heat stroke and heat exhaustion. National statistics attribute 1,300 deaths, 75,000 emergency room visits and 10,000 hospitalizations to extreme heat events.
This is possible and not far out of reach. Denver can use financial incentives to encourage the installation of highly energy-efficient cooling methods, like modular, window heat pumps that both cool and heat and use less energy, cutting costs on utility bills and lowering emissions. Denver could use existing funds from its Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resilience to expand access to efficient cooling for lower-income people, including renters.
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