Cool Routes

'Cool Routes' is a routing system that incorporates indices representing vegetation and perceived heat (thermal comfort) into navigation for people walking, biking, and rolling. Our generated routes demonstrate that users can reduce heat exposure and experience more greenery and shade without having to undertake unreasonable detours, demonstrating the potential of climate-aware navigation recommendation tools to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety and comfort. This project is part of the broader NO-HEAT Initiative through which we are working to better understand extreme heat exposure and exploring heat mitigation interventions for people walking, biking, and rolling.

NO-HEAT Initiative: https://resilience.research.gatech.edu/feature/no-heat-initiative-tackles-climate-inequity-one-street-time