HeatPatch

HeatPatch is a mobile + web app that maps street-level heat risk and helps people choose cooler walking/biking routes in cities. It blends public data (land surface temperature, tree canopy, impervious surface, shade models) with on-the-ground reports (broken sprinklers, missing shade, heat-reflective pavement, water fountain status) to generate a “coolth score” for each block. Users can plan trips that minimize heat exposure, get alerts during heat advisories, and discover nearby cooling centers and reliable water sources. For cities and nonprofits, a lightweight dashboard highlights heat hotspots, equity overlays, and the highest-impact micro-interventions (shade sails, tree planting, misting stations) with estimated benefit per dollar. This is realistic because it can start with imperfect data and improve over time via crowdsourcing and partnerships, but it must be clear about uncertainty and avoid overpromising precision.