Emergency Response Clean Air Cooling Zones

Community safety

Central LA East LA South LA

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

Extreme heat and air pollution are growing threats in Los Angeles—and together, they’re deadlier than either alone. On days with both, the risk of death rises by over 21%. Temperature inversions trap smog near the ground, especially in low-income areas where residents already face higher rates of asthma, heart disease, and housing insecurity. Outdoor workers are forced to labor through hazardous conditions, and rebuilding efforts after wildfires are stalled due to toxic air and dangerous heat. These crises are compounding, not isolated. Yet most climate responses treat them separately, and few are designed to scale quickly in high-risk communities.

This grant will fund the first large-scale deployment of ThermoShade × Air Vitalize cooling and air purification pods across Los Angeles. Each unit combines ThermoShade’s passive radiative cooling panels, which help occupants feel up to 20°F cooler, with Air Vitalize’s outdoor air purifiers, which remove harmful particulates from smog. These modular, mobile units will be deployed in vulnerable neighborhoods, disaster recovery zones, and outdoor work or recreation areas as needed to improve community safety. At least 70% of deployments will deploy in low income areas, with a focus on deployments at high traffic outdoor gathering places.
During the one-year grant period, we will complete at least 10 deployments across the LA Basin, prioritizing areas with overlapping heat and pollution risk. We will partner with local orgs, city agencies, and events to test different deployment models. At each site, we will collect real-time air quality and temperature data. Finally, we will launch community feedback and education programs around staying safe during heat waves.
Unlike traditional shade or monitoring systems, our solution provides immediate relief in places where it is most needed - without requiring grid power, water, or permanent infrastructure.

If successful, our project will demonstrate that climate-safe public space can be created quickly, equitably, and affordably across Los Angeles during the summer (when healthy air cooling spaces are most needed). In the short term, we’ll directly protect at least 2,500 residents from dangerous heat conditions while building awareness of inversion days and safe outdoor activity with our rapidly deployable temporary shelter. With successful temporary demonstrations, we aim to scale our solution to permanent infrastructure in the long term. We envision upgrades to every LA community park, disaster recovery site, outdoor event space, and high-risk job zone. This project will serve as a blueprint for deploying dual air and heat resilience infrastructure in every major city facing compound climate risks.