This project was facilitated through the Central Coast Alliance United for Sustainable Economy (CAUSE), a grassroots base-building organization in California, and supported by the Center for Equitable Environmental Sciences (CEES) at UCSB. The project aimed to research existing climate resilience strategies, programs, and models for developing a climate resilience hub in Santa Paula, Ventura County, California. Climate resilience hubs not only provide a physical space but also social infrastructure to support communities during extreme climate events through various resources.
Ventura County is the fastest warming area in the U.S., and Santa Paula is predominantly a low-income community, making it highly vulnerable to extreme climate events. As part of the project, we surveyed over 200 people and co-organized a town hall to learn about how the local community deals with extreme heat and understand their needs better to create inclusive social infrastructure in a climate resilience hub. We also conducted one-on-one in-depth structured interviews with the residents to gain a deeper understanding. Insights from the surveys, town hall, and interviews will be used by CAUSE and shared with the county government for the establishment of a climate resilience hub in Santa Paula.
Alexa and Shivank’s Impact:
- Surveyed over 200 residents in Santa Paula to understand how extreme heat impacts them.
- Researched different climate resilience hub models across the U.S.
- Presented research findings and survey results to the Santa Paula community during a town hall.
- Conducted in-depth interviews with residents to recommend inclusive and engaging features for the resilience hub.
