Using hourly remote sensing data and cutting-edge transportation modeling, the NO-HEAT team is creating "feels like" temperature maps (based on the Universal Thermal Climate Index - UTCI) that reflect how heat impacts people moving through cities. The research doesn’t just measure where it’s hot — it overlays walking and biking patterns to find hot zones where real people are at risk.

These tools will inform everything from where to install shaded bus stops to how local and regional governments prioritize funding for cool pavements or green infrastructure. The team is already working with city agencies and community groups in Boston and Atlanta, with support from the Boston Region MPO and the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC).

One of the most exciting elements of the project is a first-of-its-kind navigation app that lets people choose routes not just by distance, but by comfort and safety.

Tentatively titled Cool Routes, the app reimagines what wayfinding should look like in a warming world. Users will be able to compare different walking and biking options based on real-time temperature, shade, and even “perceived distance” — an emerging metric based on the psychology of movement, safety, and thermal stress.

“We’re not trying to compete with Google or Apple Maps,” Basu said. “We’re offering something that prioritizes public health and climate resilience. This is for communities.”

The app will be entering its testing phase soon. But this summer, the team is focused on something just as important: data collection on the ground.

To validate their urban microclimate models and fine-tune app functionality, the CURA team will soon be strapping sensors onto bicycles and backpacks and sending students and volunteers into Atlanta neighborhoods. These sensors will measure heat and air quality in real time, providing hyperlocal data that can’t be captured by satellites or weather stations alone.

It’s an effort powered not just by researchers, but by students across disciplines — from city and regional planning to computer science and industrial systems engineering.

“This is innovation in action,” said Basu. “These students are building tools that don’t exist yet, and they’re doing it in ways that could scale nationally and beyond.”

A new Vertically Integrated Project (VIP) team focused on NO-HEAT will also launch in Fall 2025, creating a long-term framework for students across the Georgia Tech community to participate in the project and expand its reach to other cities and states.

At its heart, NO-HEAT is about more than data. It’s about climate justice, mobility, and the right to move through your city safely — regardless of the weather or your income level. Whether it’s a parent walking their child to daycare or an older adult waiting for a bus, seemingly small environmental stressors can compound into major access and safety issues.

And with Atlanta summers growing longer and more extreme, the need for localized, people-first planning has never been greater.

“This is the kind of work that proves academia doesn’t live in an ivory tower,” Basu said. “It lives on the streets — with the people, in step with community needs.”
 

Stay tuned for updates from CURA as students hit the pavement this summer — and a new kind of navigation app takes shape.