Street by street, study out of Argonne National Lab to examine climate change at the local level
A new study will examine the local effects of climate change in the Chicago area down to individual streets and blocks, Argonne National Laboratory of DuPage County announced today.
Funded with $25 million over five years from the U.S. Department of Energy, the research will look to harness community feedback to identify climate and clean energy solutions at the granular level. Argonne will partner with academic and community partners to create an Urban Integrated Field Laboratory called “Community Research on Climate and Urban Science.”
“The Chicagoland area provides a rich environment for study, and we are excited to work with such a diverse group of community, research and educational partners,” Cristina Negri, the director of Argonne's Environmental Sciences Division and study lead, said in a statement.
Partners include 12 higher education institutions such as the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern University, and community-based organizations including the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus.
The study aims to directly benefit local residents by gathering community input about specific concerns and questions related to climate change. It will also work with students to develop climate models and collect data such as temperature, precipitation and soil conditions.
Areas of research will explore how infrastructure such as buildings and expressways affect the climate, as well as what the effects of trees, open spaces and Lake Michigan are. The resulting climate models will predict how the climate will progress from street to street.
A central goal of the study is to address underrepresentation of people of color in climate research.
“Unfortunately, the neighborhoods that are most at risk for climate-related disasters have historically been understudied and are unable to access the resources or services they need,” Argonne wrote in a press release Tuesday.
The research team will include at least three community organizations based in Chicago's South and West sides: Black in Green of Woodlawn, Puerto Rican Agenda of Humboldt Park and the Greater Chatham Initiative.
Among growing concerns about extreme weather such as flooding, drought and heat waves, the Chicago region's climate is “noticeably changing,” Negri added, and understanding those changes at the neighborhood scale will help local planners enact climate solutions and better prepare for the future.
Researchers hope the study will act as a blueprint for similar work in other cities in the future.
“If we understand how climate and urban systems interact at increasingly detailed scales, we can address the challenge in a fair, equitable and sustainable way,” Negri said. “By advancing the science, we can help neighborhoods, governments and communities envision a climate-ready future. We're all in this together.”
• Jenny Whidden is a Report For America corps member covering climate change and the environment for the Daily Herald. To help support her work, click here to make a tax-deductible donation.