Gender, Heat, and Cities: Building Resilience for a Changing Climate
At COP29 in Baku, the panel on “Gender-Responsive Heat Actions for Cities,” hosted by the Asian Development Bank and the Atlantic Council, brought critical attention to one of the most urgent challenges of our time: the intensifying impacts of extreme heat on cities and their most vulnerable populations. This discussion resonated deeply with how we work and think at the Centre for Public Impact (CPI), reinforcing the importance of community-centered approaches and systemic thinking in creating equitable urban resilience.
This brief blog post explores three key themes from the panel and reflects on how they align with CPI’s mission to create dynamic, inclusive spaces for change.
1. Extreme Heat Exposes Systemic Vulnerabilities
The devastating effects of extreme heat disproportionately impact those who are already marginalized—women, children, the elderly, and outdoor workers.
“Temperature in parts of Iraq exceeded 45°C for over a third of the year, and women and outdoor workers bore the brunt,” Tim Stern from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office shared. The effects go beyond physical discomfort, creeping into health, livelihoods, and social stability.
For women, extreme heat exacerbates physiological vulnerabilities. “Pregnant women are particularly at risk,” explained UNICEF’s Abheet Solomon. “Every degree rise in temperature leads to a 5% increase in stillbirths and preterm births. Newborns, with their high metabolism, are at severe risk of heatstroke, organ failure, and even death.”
Older women, especially those in caregiving roles, face distinct challenges. As Eleni Myrivili from UN Habitat noted, “In cities like Athens, where 20% of the population is over 65, grandmothers are particularly vulnerable. They often care for children, run errands, and work in homes ill-equipped to handle extreme heat.” These women are exposed to prolonged heat during the day and often lack access to cooling technologies or green spaces, further exacerbating their risk.
Children, too, feel the compounded effects of heat. Their ability to learn, play, and grow is hindered by rising temperatures. The effect of this problem is especially seen in urban areas, where limited vegetation, high traffic density, and pollution create a dangerous multiplier effect. As Solomon emphasized, “The suffocating combination of poor housing conditions, inadequate ventilation, and urban pollution has a massive impact on women and children.”
At CPI, we believe that addressing systemic vulnerabilities begins with deeply understanding them. In Bangalore, our participatory action research focuses on amplifying the voices of those most affected by climate change, particularly those who are often invisible in traditional policymaking. By gathering insights on residents’ lived experiences—especially in relation to climate stressors such as heat, flooding, and drought—we aim to ensure that interventions are inclusive and responsive to the needs of the city’s most marginalized communities.
Our approach builds on local wisdom and examines how different communities, including migrants, Dalits, people with disabilities, and the LGBTQI community (particularly sex workers and trans* individuals), are adapting to these challenges with limited resources. By applying an intersectional gender lens, we aim to highlight the unique experiences and needs of those facing multiple layers of marginalization. Together with the community, we are co-creating knowledge that will inform the climate scientists, urban planners, and government officials who are responsible for implementing action plans.
This collaborative research will help build more robust, context-sensitive policies and strategies. Looking ahead, we plan to scale and adapt our approach to other cities, ensuring that more communities can benefit from inclusive and participatory climate solutions.
2. Cities Must Be Redesigned with Community Voices at the Center
Cities are at the forefront of climate hazards and uniquely positioned to lead the response. However, their design often fails to reflect the specific vulnerabilities of women and children, who are among the hardest hit by extreme heat.
“Cooling spaces must be inviting to women. Too often, they are inaccessible, stigmatized, or unsafe,” shared Myrivili, emphasizing the socio-cultural barriers women face in accessing urban cooling infrastructure. Similarly, Solomon highlighted that “newborns are the most vulnerable group to extreme heat, with risks of heatstroke, organ failure, and death compounded by pollution and poor housing.”
Redesigning cities through a gender lens means prioritizing safe, inclusive, and accessible urban spaces. This includes:
- Green Infrastructure: Green spaces and cooling areas must be safe for women and children. As Myrivili noted, “Women often fear green spaces due to safety concerns. Transparent, secure designs are critical to ensure these areas are accessible to all.”
- Housing and Ventilation: Many women and children in urban slums suffer from poor housing conditions with inadequate ventilation or cooling options. Addressing this requires bold investment in resilient infrastructure that prioritizes the most vulnerable.
- Public Transportation: Gender and climate-responsive urban design extend to transportation. For example, in Texas, Austin’s shaded transit stops, highlighted by Aditi Maheshwari of C40, demonstrate how small but targeted interventions can make a significant difference for heat-exposed commuters.
CPI’s work recognizes that cities must be redesigned to withstand climate impacts and to center the needs of those at the greatest risk of experiencing climate hazards, like extreme heat and poor air quality. In King County, Washington, we are collaborating with the local transit agency on an ambitious transition to net-zero emissions in their bus fleet. This initiative promises cleaner air, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and improved quality of life for residents.
Our government partner is leading with equity throughout the zero-emissions transition by prioritizing new infrastructure and service in communities disproportionately affected by local air pollution. King County demonstrates how equity-driven approaches to urban redesign can address climate vulnerabilities while creating healthier, more resilient environments for all residents.
3. Gender-Responsive Solutions Require Community Voices
The panel’s most striking theme was the necessity of community-driven approaches, particularly those that prioritize women’s voices. Time and again, the panelists emphasized that meaningful solutions emerge when women are not just beneficiaries, but active participants in designing interventions.
“In Kenya, women-led groups are designing community cooling centers,” shared Loretta Hieber Girardet from UNDRR. “In Bangladesh, solar fans are being distributed to women in vulnerable areas, reducing their exposure to outdoor heat. These programs work because they are created by and for the communities they serve.”
Women’s leadership transforms outcomes. In Mexico City, over one thousand women have been trained to create pollinator gardens, greening urban areas and building resilience. This reflects the idea that investing in women-led initiatives ensures more equitable solutions and creates economic opportunities.
Participation alone, however, is not enough; infrastructure and policies must be designed to meet women’s needs. Myrivili cautioned, “Cooling spaces must not just exist; they must feel safe, accessible, and free of stigma. Women won’t leave their homes to access cooling centers if they feel unwelcome or vulnerable.”
At CPI, we’ve seen how inclusive, community-driven innovation transforms urban resilience. Through programs like The Opportunity Project for Cities, we’ve worked alongside local governments, community organizations, and technology experts to co-create tools that address critical challenges.
For example, real-time data collection on commuting conditions can help inform the design of safer, cooler public spaces, particularly benefiting women and children who spend more time outdoors during extreme heat. Similarly, tree mapping tools provide essential data to guide urban canopy restoration, creating greener neighborhoods that offer shade and improved air quality—resources especially critical for pregnant women, caregivers, and children.
By ensuring these projects incorporate community voices at every stage, we aim to build urban systems that respond to the unique needs of those most at risk. Women and children, often excluded from decision-making processes, benefit significantly from inclusive approaches that prioritize health, safety, and accessibility in urban design. These projects demonstrate how gender-responsive outcomes can emerge from broader community-driven innovation, ensuring that urban redesign is not only inclusive but also deeply reflective of the diverse populations it serves.
Reflections: The Urgency of Thinking Systemically and Acting Locally
The panel’s insights underscore the need to think systemically about climate resilience while acting locally. At CPI, this dual approach is core to everything we do. Urban areas like Austin and Mexico City, cited by the panelists, are already demonstrating what is possible when targeted, gender-responsive interventions are combined with systemic thinking.
But the work is far from done. As Myrivili aptly stated, “We have to think about gender-responsive design in multiple dimensions—physiological, economic, and socio-cultural. Only then can we truly build resilience.” These words remind us that the solutions we build today must address both immediate needs and the deeper inequities that fuel climate vulnerability.
At CPI, we remain committed to supporting cities as they rise to meet these challenges, ensuring that their responses are inclusive, community-centered, and systemically transformative.
