Fast Company World Changing Ideas 2025
Academic Excellence
Illegal acts of kindness.
INTRODUCTION
As climate change intensifies, cities grow hotter and the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect exacerbates inequities in our built environments. Traditional top-down solutions often fail to engage those most impacted, leaving communities disempowered. This thesis reimagines UHI mitigation as an act of creativity, activism, and environmental justice. It introduces an ecosystem of guerrilla-style interventions: sprayable plant graffiti that cools building surfaces, an awareness campaign to inspire action, and a mapping platform to track plant health. The project empowers individuals to reclaim urban spaces and confront the climate crisis from the ground up. We hope that this work sparks hope for a future where grassroots interventions reshape our cities, fostering resilience and collective action in the face of climate change.
How might we encourage communities to combat the Urban Heat Island effect and advance environmental justice through creative action?
MY ROLE
Research
Conceptualization
Fabrication
CLASS
Berkeley Master of Design
Thesis Studio
TOOLS
3D Print
Screenprint
ArcGIS
THE TEAM
Abigail Chen
Kirk Mendoza
TIMELINE
4 months
August - December 2024
Background
Cities are getting hotter.
Urban areas trap heat. Concrete, asphalt, and brick absorb the sun’s energy and release it back into the air, raising local temperatures. With less greenery to cool things down, cities become Urban Heat Islands—hotter than surrounding rural areas. This heat worsens health risks, stresses energy systems, and fuels climate change.
Green gentrification.
The map below overlays surface temperatures with historic redlining grades from the Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC), which institutionalized racial discrimination in housing. It shows a clear pattern: areas rated “desirable,” like the Berkeley Hills, stay cooler. Areas marked “high-risk,” like Fruitvale, can be up to 20°F hotter.
The Urban Heat Island effect isn’t distributed equally. To build healthier cities, we must address this legacy and green all neighborhoods—not just the privileged ones.
How might communities be encouraged to combat the Urban Heat Island effect and advance environmental justice through creative action?
Process
Focus Groups
We engaged in interviews and focus groups with community organizers, activists, exhibition designers, architects, and climate educators to understand the shortcomings of current solutions to urban heat.
Seed & Materials Tests
We tested a variety of micro-greens on concrete, brick, and wood to see which one would grow the fastest. Cress was the winner.
Prototyping & Testing
We sketched, 3D modeled, printed, tested, and optimized a nozzle for the best seed spray-ability when attached to a pesticide sprayer.
Brand
Awareness Campaign
We built upon Berkeley and Oakland’s rich legacy of protest history to create an awareness campaign that addresses the urgency and importance of urban heating and its social issues. We set up a screen printing workshop to mass produce them.
