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Resilient by Design: An Urban Heat Strategy for Boynton Beach

Status

Start: 8/1/2025
End: 7/31/2026
Client or funder: Boynton Beach, FL
Collaborators: Community Greening, American Forests, and EcoAdapt

Context

As the deadliest weather-related hazard in the U.S., extreme heat is increasingly being recognized as one of the most urgent challenges at the nexus of climate and public health.  Florida is no exception: a recent study found that about 1 in 4 Floridians are highly vulnerable to the health impacts of extreme heat. Heavily developed areas like Boynton Beach are especially susceptible to extreme heat because buildings, roads, and concrete trap and hold onto heat, making it feel hotter. This phenomenon is known as the urban heat island effect. 

Recognizing that heat resilience is essential to public safety and well-being, the City of Boynton Beach partnered with ICLEI USA, Community Greening, American Forests, and EcoAdapt to create Resilient by Design: An Urban Heat Strategy for Boynton Beach. The Strategy, which aims to mitigate urban heat islands and protect at-risk residents, is the City’s first city-wide heat resilience initiative.

Read the Strategy: https://icleiusa.thinkific.com/pages/m68-resilient-by-design-an-urban-heat-strategy-for-boynton-beach

Project Activity

ICLEI USA worked with the City to coordinate the Resilient by Design planning effort; our team also developed a community engagement “meeting in a box” toolkit used at public workshops and citywide events. Community engagement activities included a heat solution gallery walk, participatory mapping exercises, and visioning activities to capture residents’ lived experiences with extreme heat and identify their preferred cooling solutions.

To build internal momentum and alignment, ICLEI USA facilitated a cross-departmental workshop for Boynton Beach staff. Bringing together stakeholders across departments, this session gathered municipal input to shape the strategy’s core vision, values, actions, and implementation goals.

The final Resilient by Design document outlines 31 concrete actions to help the City of Boynton Beach shift heat resilience from an ad hoc goal to a core municipal service.

Outcomes

Achieve long-term canopy goal of 20% City-wide by 2050

Those Involved

Boynton Beach, FL

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