Resilient Tempe Master Plan and Feasibility Study

The Resilient Tempe Masterplan brings together efforts and processes in Community Services, Municipal Utilities, Engineering and Transportation, Community Development and Sustainability and Resilience to ensure that the design, implementation and regulation of infrastructure including storm water infrastructure is coordinated in an effective and collaborative manner. The Master Plan will use heat vulnerability heat, vegetation coverage and equity data to determine where cooling infrastructure across the city is needed including tree canopy, green storm water infrastructure, traditional storm water infrastructure, cool materials (including pavements), cool school and park investments and cooling centers (including coordination with Resilient Energy Hub Master Plan). The Master Plan will also include an update of Urban Forestry and Shade Master Plan (UFSMP) given the growing overlap between the requirements of MS4 storm water permits and urban forestry.

The Utility Feasibility Study will look at alternative funding streams for storm water infrastructure and regulatory compliance. Due to concerns of the General Fund handling of additional storm water regulation personnel and program costs, this study is needed to determine the feasibility of creating a new urban cooling and storm water to cover the increasing cost of compliance and the future costs of meeting Tempe’s storm water and urban cooling needs.

Emergency Manager

The city will on-board a new Emergency Manager, who will pursue our efforts on resilience to extreme heat.

Emergency Management Executive Summary

Urban Forestry Master Plan

Tempe can reach the City Council Performance Measure of a citywide 25% tree and shade canopy by 2040 by increasing our urban forest in three key public spaces: parks and open spaces, streets, and urban hubs.

Resident Energy Hubs

Resilient Energy Hubs are a highlight action of Tempe’s Climate Action Plan. Learn more about energy hubs and what Tempe is currently doing, here.

The threat of extreme heat is intensifying due to climate change and the urban heat island (UHI) effect. Record-breaking temperatures are sweeping Tempe and the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, presenting obstacles to keep Tempe safe. We must be resilient to climate change threats that are already impacting our city and prepare for the threats to come.

• Air Quality
• Urban Forest 
• Municipal Carbon Reduction and Renewable Energy Policy
• Extreme Weather

State Farm Century of Good is a grant about how Tempe is enhancing its response to extreme heat at local schools and the city’s new resource hub through a new $500,000 grant recently awarded to create a safer, stronger and more resilient community. This grant supports the City of Tempe in addressing extreme heat by advancing projects that help Tempe support residents and neighborhoods that are getting hit first and worst by climate change. Key Features include Received $500,000 from State Farm and Mitigating the negative effects of extreme heat. Future Impacts include Tempe’s Office of Sustainability will invest in green storm water infrastructure, native tree planting and renewable energy projects. Three sites have been identified, two local middle schools and EnVision Tempe, the city’s one-stop resource center and heat resiliency hub scheduled to open later this year. To learn more about this grant, click here.

Cool Kids, Cool Places, Cool Futures is a grant about advancing extreme heat resilience in the Escalante and Gilliland neighborhoods. Council members will work alongside researchers, city staff, local artists, social workers and teachers to complete projects including communications and arts projects, cooling projects like food forests and native gardens, and guidelines for the city on how to invest in urban cooling.

To see past grants that progressed Resilience to Extreme Heat within the City of Tempe, please visit the completed grants webpage here.

Residents can also contribute to urban cooling efforts to ensure Tempe will be livable with the threat of extreme heat. 

City Collaboration

Become involved in Tempe’s efforts to adapt to extreme heat. 

• Learn about Tempe’s Urban Forestry Master Plan.
• Learn about the Health Impact Project, a current grant being undertaken by the City of Tempe, and the upcoming Healthy Urban Environments (HUE) grant project. 
• Take part in the TreeBate program, which offers a rebate to residential water customers who purchase approved desert-friendly plants and plant them on Tempe residential properties. The city offers a rebate of 100% (capped at $75) towards the purchase of desert-friendly plants. 
• Take part in the Landscape Conversion Rebate, where residents receive a rebate of 25 cents per square foot of grass converted to desert-friendly landscaping. 
• Contact the Council Communicator in support of urban cooling and emergency management efforts. 

Individual Actions

It is vital that people understand the threat of extreme heat. 

• Recognize the symptoms of heat-related illnesses.
• If you’re taking kids to the park, learn about how to keep kids safe on the playground equipment, as parts of it can reach well above 100°F even in the shade. 
• Find out what other Heat Relief efforts are taking place in Tempe.

Mitigating the effects of extreme heat must be a joint effort with city governments and businesses to ensure Tempe will be livable for future Tempeans. 

• Learn more about Tempe’s Urban Forestry Master Plan. 
• Contact the Council Communicator in support of urban cooling and resilience efforts.