WFYI: Indianapolis one of 12 cities participating in a study looking at how parks keep urban areas cool

Read the full story by Jill Sheridan & Benjamin Thorp here.

Indianapolis is one of 12 cities participating in an urban temperature study aimed at determining what type of natural and built environments work best to cool cities off.

Currently, ecologists from the Indianapolis Office of Land Stewardship are participating in a study conducted by the Natural Areas Conservancy to see how the health of an ecosystem influences temperatures. Sensors have been placed in parks across the city with healthy forests, degraded woods or developed sites to record temperatures. Researchers will also use satellite data to quantify differences.

Locations include Eagle Creek Park, Marott Park, and Paul Ruster Park.

It is known that trees and greenspaces help to reduce the urban heat island effect -- the increase of heat when you replace the green environment with city structures. Studies in New York City, for instance, have found that natural areas in the city are at least 8 degrees fahrenheit cooler than city averages.

The question of how best to cool the city is an important one given the growing impact of climate change on extreme heat.