Sara Meerow

@sarameerow.bsky.social

Associate Professor, University of Colorado Boulder My work focuses on urban resilience. I research and inform how communities plan for and govern climate hazards like extreme heat, green infrastructure, and climate change adaptation.

As deadly heat dominates the news here's some practical guidance on one of the best ways cities can make it more bearable for residents: plan for shade. We highlight some lessons learned from developing Phoenix's first comprehensive shade plan: www.planning.org/planning/202...

Phoenix’s First-of-its-Kind Plan Shows Shade is More Than Just Trees Now

Six ways planners can combine vegetative and built shade to improve comfort and safety on the ground.

planning.org

The plans have high-quality participation and coordination, but lack detail on vulnerability and climate change uncertainty. We also found opportunities to better target heat mitigation policies to the highest heat risk areas, diversify heat-related policies, and improve plan integration efforts.

Although our Center for Heat Resilient Communities was unfortunately terminated early, our team continued working hard to complete this resource and ensure its availability to communities across the nation. Appreciate everyone's work on this! Kelly Turner, @sarameerow.bsky.social

I'm honored to be named one of 260 Highly Cited Researchers in the Social Sciences category globally by Clarivate in 2025. This would not have been possible without an amazing, long list of co-authors, mentors, and students over the past decade: clarivate.com/highly-cited...

Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers 2025

The Highly Cited Researchers 2025 list identifies and celebrates individuals who have demonstrated significant and broad influence in their fields of research. Through rigorous selection criteria and ...

clarivate.com

Over the years I've researched how #urban #resilience is conceptualized by different academic disciplines, practitioners, & the public. I synthesized my thinking on the concept in a book chapter based on a talk at the 2022 Association for Literary Urban Studies Conference: doi.org/10.1007/978-...

Urban Resilience: Disruptive Discourse or More of the Same for Cities?

Urban resilience discourse has become increasingly pervasive over the last decade, with numerous studies, policy initiatives, and plans focusing on resilient cities. Whether this urban resilience agen...

doi.org

Some good news today: 2 of the geography PhD students in my lab successfully defended their dissertations! Congrats to new Drs. Philip Gilbertson and Alex Cliff for your persistence and important work on climate resilience!

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I was reflecting on the heatwave that impacted much of the U.S. this week, my Op-Ed from 2021 with @sarameerow.bsky.social is just as relevant today as it was then: "The reality is that all cities, regardless of size or location, need to plan for heat resilience now." news.trust.org/item/...

Cities must plan for heat resilience now

Shocking heatwaves in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and Canada show preparation for climate-driven extreme heat needs work - fast

news.trust.org