Bilatzailea
To combat the heat, it is not enough to open the door
Who would have said to me, coming from Brazil, that I was talking about the heat of the Basque Country? But it is. For a long time we have lived with a lot of enthusiasm: we have welcomed the sun, we have gone out to the street, we have sat on a terrace and we have enjoyed the summer. The problem is, however, that this pleasant heat is being mixed with more and more dangerous extreme heat strokes, and we are often not prepared: neither our homes, our streets, our routines, nor our institutions.
That’s what climate refuges are for: to protect yourself from the heat on the hardest days of summer. Libraries, schools, museums, squares full of trees or parks can be part of a network of shelters, but there is also a trap: not all spaces with ceilings, shadows or air conditioning deserve this name.
A climate shelter must provide real protection. It should offer the right temperature, but also water, seats, toilets, available schedules, clear information and accessibility. And another feature that is not so measurable—but very important—is that the user should feel “not disturbed.” Access, rest and recovery should not be a favor, but a daily right.
My research on climate shelters shows one simple and at the same time political thing: heat doesn’t affect us all the same. It’s not the same to live in a well-insulated house as in a flat that turns into an oven; to work outdoors or in an air-conditioned office; to be able to go to a cool place or have to stay at home taking care of a dependent; to receive and understand official notices and not to receive them, not to understand the language or not to use technology well. Therefore, to design a network of shelters it is not enough to look at a temperature map: you also have to look at age, income, housing, care, loneliness and invisible obstacles that leave some people out.
“Climate refuges are not a magic solution, but they are an important piece for fairer climate adaptation.”
It is also not enough to put a point on a municipal website. If no one knows that it is a shelter, or if it is closed when it is most needed, if it is far from vulnerable neighborhoods or if it has rules that expel those who need it most, it will be nothing more than a posture: a nice label for a poor policy.
The good news is that doing better is not difficult, nor is it so expensive. To begin with, it is necessary to adapt the existing public spaces, properly signaling them, guaranteeing water and rest areas, extending schedules and establishing operating protocols. When this is not done well, shelters create mistrust or confusion, or they are simply not used. When done well, they can become social infrastructures to care, meet, rest and be comfortable.
It must be said, however, that climate shelters do not replace the urban transformation we need; they do not replace decent housing, tree-lined streets, heat-sensitive labour rights and policing policies. They are not a magic solution, but they are an important piece for a fairer climate adaptation.
Buletina
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