IAP Climate: Chloe Zhang (’28)
During my time working with the City of Cambridge on the Heat Task Force project, I was a part of a team dedicated to creating an illustrative guide to educate policymakers and community members on how best to address extreme heat. This guide aimed to be culturally resonant and serve as a resource outlining past mitigation strategies and future opportunities. Working with members of the City of Cambridge, my team and I had only three and a half weeks in the IAP program to create a meaningful contribution to this initiative.
In the first week, my team and I met with Kendra, Drew, and Claudia from the City of Cambridge to discuss their vision for the project. This initial meeting provided clarity on the objectives and allowed us to brainstorm how we could best contribute to the broader scope of the project. Following this, we conducted extensive research, reviewing numerous plans and past strategies, including the Resilient Cambridge Handbook. This research phase was critical in helping us understand the context of previous efforts and identifying areas where our work could add value. As student collaborators from outside the direct field of urban planning, we bought fresh perspectives to the table, questioning and suggesting approaches that could enhance the cultural relevance of the project and guide.
Collaboration played a key role in our process. We found that working together as a team among the other teams (Boston, MITOS, Urban Risk Lab) in the MITOS office facilitated productive discussions and idea-sharing. This included much of the research and brainstorming process of the project. Our research phase eventually transitioned into the implementation stage during weeks three and four. Katie, who was interested in policy work, compiled an outline of various mitigation strategies and recommended future actions. Angela and I, focusing on the GIS side of things, explored different datasets that could be mapped to visualize the impact of potential interventions.
One of the biggest challenges that we faced was learning GIS, a tool that was entirely new to many of us. To overcome this, we reached out to the MIT Rotch Library that contained a GIS Lab. We were really thrilled when we were able to arrange a training session where we were introduced to the functionalities and tools of ArcGIS Pro. This session was extremely valuable, as it equipped us with the skills to map diverse datasets effectively, a key component of Angela and I’s work in the final weeks. By the end of our project, we had successfully integrated GIS visualizations into our final report, presenting our findings in a clear and accessible way.
The final phase of our project was synthesizing all of our work into an organized, cohesive document. This led us to shifting our priorities, focusing on compiling and presenting all of our research that led up to that point. This transition was fast-paced, but through strong teamwork, collaboration, and adaptability, we managed to deliver a polished final product!
Reflecting on my IAP experience, I am beyond grateful for the opportunity offered by PKG that encouraged me to step outside my comfort zone and explore new skills and interests. Engaging with professionals in the field broadened my understanding of social impact and climate justice, reinforcing my desire to pursue meaningful work that makes a tangible difference in people’s lives. This project also demonstrated the power of interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing complex social issues and inspires me to seek ways to apply my own skills towards impactful solutions.
Looking ahead, this experience has reshaped my perspective on tackling social challenges. The collaboration between experts from different fields illustrated the importance of diverse skill sets in creating effective and innovative solutions. I also learned that the success of projects like ours relies on open communication, curiosity, and a commitment to community engagement. The lessons learned from this experience will undoubtedly influence how I approach social issues in the future, motivating me to continue seeking ways to contribute positively to my community.
Tags: Climate Change, IAP Climate, IAP Climate 2025
