Creating innovative, practical solutions to address climate challenges in urban areas.
By combining research, community engagement, and policy development, we aim to build climate-resilient cities and improve the quality of life for communities in Austin and beyond. Explore our work and see how we’re making a difference.
Highlighted Current Projects
Flood & Wildfire Risk | Equitable Preservation
Developing tools to protect cultural heritage from flood and wildfire risks.
Weatherizing to Reduce Indoor Heat Stress
Evaluating weatherization and energy-efficiency upgrades to reduce extreme indoor heat in low-income homes.
Project Trees & Ecological Sensing
Using AI, satellite imagery, and inventories to monitor urban forest health.
City Inundation Risk Mapper
Mapping rainfall patterns to improve prediction of flood-prone areas across Austin.
Airport Structure Reuse + C&D Waste
Comparing costs and environmental impacts of airport infrastructure delivery methods.
Cool Pavements | Heat
Assessing long-term cooling performance and durability of cool pavement treatments.
Data to Decisions | AFD+AEM
Improving integration of weather and climate data into emergency management decisions.
CoolSeal | Water Quality
Evaluating water quality impacts of cool pavement coating materials.
Seasonal Outlooks
Seasonal outlooks provide forecasts of expected weather patterns over the coming months, including temperature trends, heatwaves, and precipitation. They are used to help communities, planners, and decision-makers anticipate potential impacts and prepare for climate-related risks.
Austin Digital Twin (AusTwin) Framework
AusTwin is a digital twin framework for the City of Austin, Texas; a unified system that integrates AI tools, users, data-to-decision framework into a continuous loop designed to integrate infrastructure, shocks and stressors, and visualization and analysis of if-then scenarios.
Past Projects
Community Thermal Witnessing
Full Report Coming Soon
Exploring how cooling corridors including tree coverage and other intentional cooling infrastructures interact with daily resident activity and experiences of extreme heat.
Partners:
Austin Climate Action and Resilience, Go! Austin/Vamos! Austin (GAVA), Transportation and Public Works, Austin Wildfire Division, Austin Public Health, Austin Water, Austin Energy
Scenario Planning
Full Report Coming Soon
Researching planning methodologies that can be implemented to address uncertainties in infrastructure management and community health.
Partners:
Austin Climate Action and Resilience, Go! Austin/Vamos! Austin (GAVA), Transportation and Public Works, Austin Wildfire Division, Austin Public Health, Austin Water, Austin Energy
Building Decarbonization
Full Report Coming Soon
Exploring how digital twins, city infrastructure, and construction & demolition (C&D) waste management be utilized in terms of their embodied carbon and energy impacts.
Partners:
Go! Austin/Vamos! Austin (GAVA), Transportation and Public Works, Austin Wildfire Division, Austin Public Health, Austin Water, Austin Energy, Austin Climate Action and Resilience
Tree & Forest Health
Full Report Coming Soon
Using remote sensing and AI (satellite, drone, and LiDAR data) to map Austin’s urban tree canopy and assess composition and health in order to provide actionable insights for climate decisions.
Partners:
Austin Climate Action and Resilience, Go! Austin/Vamos! Austin (GAVA), Transportation and Public Works, Austin Wildfire Division, Austin Public Health, Austin Water, Austin Energy
Understanding Heat in North Austin, TX
Full Report Coming Soon
This project details efforts by Go! Austin/Vamos! Austin (GAVA), the City of Austin, and the University of Texas to address extreme heat in Austin's Eastern Crescent, focusing on vulnerable communities.
Partners:
Austin Climate Action and Resilience, Go! Austin/Vamos! Austin (GAVA)
Data to Decisions | Wildfire Mitigation
Full Report Coming Soon
Data to Decisions will visually align city departments’ climate and weather data needs with their operational timelines for tailored, efficient planning.
Partners:
Austin Wildfire Division
Community Heat Mapping
Full Report Coming Soon
The primary objective of this project is to establish a meaningful connection between climate science and community groups, with the intent of ensuring that the information generated is useful and usable.
Partners:
Go! Austin/Vamos! Austin (GAVA)
Passive House Project
Full Report Coming Soon
This project delves into both the potential energy saving capabilities and financial viability of employing passive house building standards in multi-family residential projects in Austin, Texas.
Partners:
Austin Energy