The city of Phoenix has created the first publicly funded municipal department in the country focusing on heat relief.
The Office of Heat Response and Mitigation will coordinate the city’s efforts to reduce temperatures in the city and make it easier to live in the heat.
“We will have a dual and equal focus on heat response — helping people cope with heat — and heat mitigation, strategies to cool the city and make it more comfortable,” said David Hondula, the director of the new office who started with the city earlier this month.
