Melting Metropolis: Everyday Histories of Heat and Health in London, New York and Paris since 1945 is a Wellcome-funded project that explores the histories and geographies of heat in London, New York, and Paris.
Led by Professor Chris Pearson in the Department of History, it aims to develop and deepen understandings of changing experiences of urban heat through engagement with affected communities and historical sources.
Urban heat raises a host of health problems. Heatwaves, exacerbated by urban heat islands, are torrid manifestations of how high temperatures disrupt city life, bringing issues of climate injustice into stark relief. Yet extreme temperatures are only one aspect of the ever-evolving relationship between urban heat and health, one that has some positive features, such as summer festivals, swimming outdoors, or in NYC, cracking a water hydrant.
Dr Daniel Cumming and Melting Metropolis interns:
Queens College, CUNY, is a project partner where Dr Kara Schlichting and Dr Daniel Cumming are leading our research and engagement activities. From digging in archives to conducting oral history interviews, they are uncovering how New Yorkers have felt and thought about their city’s famously torrid summers. In doing so, they are working with our community partners in Queens, King Manor Museum, Newtown Creek Alliance, and Queens Memory Project, and taking part in events such as New York Climate Week in September. They have also produced an interactive map with Urban Archive that explores how New Yorkers have experienced summer. The project runs from 2023 to 2029.