Heat Health: Mobility Justice, Research, and Implementation - 1.0 PDH (LA CES/HSW)
Includes a Live Web Event on 09/03/2026 at 2:00 PM (EDT)
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- Non-member - $55
- Member - Free!
- Student Member - Free!
- Associate Member - Free!
Extreme heat is the deadliest of climate hazards, compromising health, quality of life, and accessibility for disabled and older adult populations. Hear from ASLA Climate & Biodiversity Fellow Keenan Gibbons, ASLA, on his research that is revolutionizing a new approach to measuring heat at the experiential scale. Learn from Wild Land Workshop and the Smart Surfaces Coalition on how to use the lens of mobility justice to make communities more resilient to heat impacts, taking away site-scale strategies and policy and planning solutions.
Learning objectives:
- Understand why heat is the deadliest climate hazard and how heat exposure intersects with equity and mobility challenges.
- Evaluate new methods for measuring and visualizing heat at the local scale to inform climate-responsive design and planning decisions.
- Learn how experiential heat data can reveal localized thermal disparities and support more effective heat mitigation strategies.
- Apply mobility justice and heat resilience principles to develop site-scale, policy, and planning interventions that create cooler, more equitable communities.
image: courtesy of Keenan Gibbons, ASLA
Keenan Gibbons, ASLA, PLA
ASLA Climate & Biodiversity Action Fellow; Principal and Director of Landscape Architecture, SmithGroup; Lecturer, University of Michigan
SmithGroup
Keenan is a licensed landscape architect and urban design professional practicing in the Detroit area of southeast Michigan. His expertise is in the sustainable planning, design, and implementation of green infrastructure, parks, streetscapes, and creative stormwater management strategies. Keenan is Director of Landscape Architecture at SmithGroup and Lecturer at the University of Michigan, and advanced in digital media, design and modeling, and is an FAA Remote Pilot conducting heat island research. His peer-reviewed research has been showcased on multinational news networks and captured global attention in the fight against climate change. Keenan is the current ASLA Climate & Biodiversity Action Fellow.
Deanna Lynn, ASLA
Landscape Designer
Wild Land Workshop
Deanna Lynn, ASLA, is a landscape designer with Wild Land Workshop in Monterey, California and incorporates her passion for ecological design and accessibility into projects along the coast of California. Her master’s project, Landscape Design for Carbon Sequestration, has become a valuable resource, winning an ASLA student research honor award. She has contributed as a researcher at Climate Positive Design, has advised on the ASLA Climate and Biodiversity Action Plan, and serves on the ASLA Climate and Biodiversity Action Committee. She holds an MLA from the University of Oregon and a BA in Music from the University of Southern California.
Bill Updike
Director of U.S. Policy & Programs
Smart Surfaces Coalition
Bill serves as the Director of U.S. Policy & Programs for the non-profit Smart Surfaces Coalition, an organization consisting of more than 40 leading national and international organizations that hold a shared commitment to creating cooler, healthier, and more resilient cities through the comprehensive transformation of urban infrastructure to mitigate climate change, extreme urban heat, and stormwater flooding. Prior to joining the Smart Surfaces Coalition, Bill served as a principal with the engineering firm Integral Group (now Introba) where he worked on zero carbon planning for cities and universities. Before his time at Integral, Bill served as the Chief of the Green Building and Climate Branch and Deputy Director of the Urban Sustainability Administration for the city government in Washington, DC. Bill also previously worked as a project manager for a renewable energy company, a green building construction manager for a design/build firm, and an outside sales representative for a green building supply company.
Amy C. Syverson, ASLA, SITES AP, TRUE Advisor (Moderator)
Sustainability Lead
Landscape Forms
Amy Syverson‑Shaffer is the Sustainability Lead at Landscape Forms, where she advances environmental stewardship and responsible manufacturing. With a background in landscape architecture, she brings a designer’s perspective to industry and collaborates across disciplines to drive meaningful change, She progresses the company's long-term sustainability roadmap through initiatives in product life cycle assessment, zero‑waste manufacturing, renewable energy, ecological restoration, and more. Amy serves on the ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee and the Landscape Architecture Foundation Board, frequently presenting on sustainability strategies. She was recently honored with ASLA’s Outstanding Service Award in recognition of exceptional leadership in sustainability and industry collaboration.