Mayor Kate Gallego Represents Phoenix at Conferences Regarding Drought, Water

City of Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego will be attending two conferences around the country next week. The first conference is about building urban resilience to extreme heat, and the second is the UN Water Conference in NYC.

It is important to have Phoenix representation at these conferences as the city works to tackle issues of drought and heat.

Mayor Gallego details what to expect from these conferences.

UN Water conference (New York)

The water conference in New York will bring together some of the best minds from all over the country(s) regarding water.

“I will get a chance to present some of the work we are doing on water conservation in the City of Phoenix,” said Gallego. “I think that’s important for two reasons: We’re in a major debate that has international implications around the Colorado River, a river we share with Mexico. We need to prove that we use water wisely and that we are making the right intelligent decisions to be trusted with that scarce supply.”

The Mayor also looks forward to sharing some of the city’s ideas and getting feedback from the conference members whom are professionals in the water industry.

Urban resilience and heat conference (Pennsylvania)

Phoenix is the first city in all of the United States that has an office dedicated to heat response and mitigation on a full-time basis.

“We have developed great tools that range from how you build and design buildings to how you orient streets,” said Gallego. “We want to share what we are doing but also understand the best research and tools to make sure that we have a safer Summer.”

One of the ideas Gallego will present at the conference is cool corridors. This project involves planting trees in areas that are heavily trafficked and also investing in pavement technology.

Gallego said this new pavement technology has the power to cool communities by a noticeable difference of ten degrees.