Climate change is altering weather patterns throughout the globe. In San Francisco, this means dealing with unusually hot weather, poor air quality from nearby fires, and, as we saw earlier this year, even floods.
That’s why, this summer, San Francisco released its Heat and Air Quality Resilience Plan, or HAQR. It’s a 44-page document that dives into the city's goals to address problems related to extreme heat and poor air quality. It includes plans to update buildings so they are more resilient to higher temperatures and bad air, and to develop more “green infrastructure.”
In that vein, last week the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management rolled out part of its Extreme Weather Resilience Plan, or EWRP. The EWRP is providing air conditioning and air filtration systems to 90 community centers in San Francisco, so they can stay open during heatwaves and fire season. It draws heavily on the HAQR plan.
Alongside leadership from The Boys & Girls Club, government officials spoke at length about the need to adapt San Francisco’s aging infrastructure to the effects of climate change.
The initial launch will be impacting children’s community centers and senior centers. But the city’s HAQR Plan is looking at ways to update residential buildings as well, especially those in Black, Brown and low-income neighborhoods.
