West Valley / Hollywood

Here's the deal

Scroll through the slides below to learn about climate risks

The West Valley/Hollywood climate zone faces unique climate threats, but there are many ways to address them.

It encompasses Encino, Gateway Park, Lake Balboa and touches across the 405 freeway. More inland than its coastal counterparts, the West Valley/Hollywood climate zone is subject to periods of extreme heat, the urban heat island effect, air pollution, and extreme precipitation and drought. There are a lot of ways to adapt our neighborhoods to better deal with these effects, ways to plan our cities more sustainably to avoid future impact. We’ll explore some solutions and concepts that can be tailored at the neighborhood level in these slides.

It gets hot in West Valley/Hollywood...and it’s going to get hotter.

The West Valley/Hollywood area sees an average of 11 days of extreme heat (days above 95°F) throughout a given year. That number is projected to increase to 34 days sometime between 2041-2060 if we don’t lower greenhouse gas emissions. The end of the century is even more concerning, where extreme heat days are expected to almost double to 57 by 2070-2099. Still, those numbers can be reduced by almost a third by 2040 and almost half by 2070 if aggressive steps are taken now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The urban heat island effect can raise temperatures up to 22°F, and West Valley/Hollywood is no exception.

Urban heat islands typically push temperatures up 1.8-5.4°F during the day and as much as 22°F in the evening. Overall electricity demand and peak demand will continue to grow as more people stay inside in these hot, condensed areas. Higher energy demand will strain electrical grids, and lead to rolling blackouts. Extreme heat kills more people in the US than any other natural disaster. For example, increased heat increases the chances of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, as high temperatures continue on into the night, a time period during which the body needs to rest and recover.

Heat increases pollutants and fuels wildfires that dramatically worsen the air quality in West Valley/Hollywood.

The recent wildfires in Southern California, brought air quality to extremely dangerous levels, making it unsafe to be outside. Additionally, heat increases the formation of ozone (smog) and hot roads cause more wear-and-tear on tires, which put more harmful particulate matter in the air. The increase in ozone and other pollutants in the air will cause health problems to the residents there, such as chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, and airway inflammation. In addition, these poor air quality conditions will be especially dangerous for those with asthma and allergies or those subject to cardiovascular and respiratory disease.

West Valley/Hollywood will have to deal with increasing periods of extreme precipitation and drought.

Climate change will create periods of extremes in rain and drought. The wettest day of the year will get on average 30% wetter and droughts will be longer. Currently, there is little infrastructure out there to capture extreme precipitation. Additionally, LA’s infrastructure is not equipped to handle large amounts of rain. Since LA imports 85% of its water, it’s vital we begin to capture runoff to protect our water supply and infrastructure.

Let's Fix it

We can beat the heat!

With cool pavement and cool roofs installed in the region, we can reflect 20-60% of solar energy back into space, thereby cooling the area. Trees and shade cover can also bring surface temperatures down by up to 40 degrees. Tools like Treeviewer show how much tree coverage West Valley/Hollywood area has, as well as the potential for new trees. Currently, parts of West Valley/Hollywood have up to 6% to 8% less tree coverage than the county average, showing that there is a lot of potential for new trees to cool the area and advance equity. By taking these steps, West Valley/Hollywood will be better prepared for extreme heat days.

Clean air is possible!

Through urban greening, air quality monitoring, and reducing pollution, the West Valley/Hollywood region can transform its air quality. Tree canopy and ground-level vegetation absorb and disperse pollutants, and they can reduce heat at the same time. An air quality monitoring plan will keep track of the amount of pollutants in the region and allow people to take precautions like using pollution masks or avoiding outdoor activities. Lastly, by improving the accessibility of active and public transportation, we can address both air quality issues but also heat issues. For example, bus shelters can reduce heat and encourage bus ridership, thus addressing heat and air quality issues at the same time. Overall, these methods can lower the amount of cars and the pollutants produced from them, thereby improving air quality in West Valley/Hollywood.

Let’s capture and conserve water

We can improve storm-water capture basins and systems in the San Fernando Valley, aggressively use unused pieces of land in Los Angeles for storm-water capture, and modify current dam and flood control basins to improve water conservation. With these methods, West Valley/Hollywood will be able to capture water better during periods of extreme precipitation and can save it for periods of drought.