In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with V. Kelly Turner, an associate professor at the Luskin School of Public Affairs at the University of California, Los Angeles, about the impacts of heat on students in US schools. Heat not only affects the body but also has implications for children’s behavior and learning outcomes. Turner also discusses architectural and landscape design choices and technology that can mitigate hot temperatures on school grounds, funding sources for improving school infrastructure, and issues of equity in allocating such resources to schools.

References and recommendations:

The Los Angeles Living Schoolyards Coalition; https://www.lalivingschoolyards.org/

“Green schoolyards for Los Angeles: The smart policy solution for equity, health, and climate resilience” from the Trust for Public Land; https://www.tpl.org/green-schoolyards-los-angeles

“The Heat Will Kill You First” by Jeff Goodell; https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/jeff-goodell/the-heat-will-kill-you-first/9780316497572/