a Yale Planetary Solutions Project
The concurrent benefits of public art and scientific innovations make “Cooling Murals” so cool. Cooling murals are designed using reflective paints, often used for roofs and pavement, that decrease the surface temperature of the material they are installed upon. Using these paints to create place-based climate messaging draws attention to the urban heat island effect and hopefully inspires collaborative solutions-based approaches to mediating climate change.
“Cool murals have the potential to educate, inspire and empower communities to create hyper local climate solutions and can be scaled to other cities. It’s exciting for New Haven to take a leadership role in this area.”
Karen Seto, Frederick C. Hixon Professor of eography and Urbanization Science at the Yale School of the Environment
Cooling murals combine practical climate adaptation with community-driven artistic expression, allowing residents to engage in climate solutions that are both visual and functional.
“The mural canvass of the Goffe Street Armory and the mural subject matter of climate change and its disproportionate impact on communities of color are both deeply meaningful to our residents, the Dixwell neighborhood, and our city.”
Mayor Justin Elicker, Mayor of New Haven, Connecticut