Phoenix, Arizona, USA
#00169
Case study of
#00183 Create a funded municipal heat office with an annually updated heat action plan
Implementer
City of Phoenix, Office of Heat Response and Mitigation (founding director David Hondula)
Timeline
Since Oct 1, 2021
Location
Description
In October 2021 Phoenix created the first publicly funded city heat office in the United States, the Office of Heat Response and Mitigation, under director David Hondula. The office publishes an annual heat response plan and runs both emergency response and year-round mitigation. The operational turning point was adding a 24/7 respite center alongside 60+ cooling sites with extended hours, addressing the finding that roughly half of Maricopa County's heat deaths were among unhoused people whom business-hours cooling centers were not reaching. Maricopa County heat-associated deaths fell from 645 in 2023 to 430 in 2025 (final county report, April 2026), a decline of roughly 29 percent from the 2023 peak. Over 5 million USD was assembled for 2026 operations from federal pandemic relief, opioid settlement money, and city funds; the office itself flags this funding mix as unstable, assembled from one-off sources rather than secured as a permanent budget line.
Metrics
3Funding
Lessons learned
- A funded office with operational control produced a measurable mortality decline within 2–3 years of creation.
- 24/7 respite capacity, not more cooling-center locations, drove the turnaround: operating hours and unconditional welcome determine mortality impact, particularly for unhoused populations.
- Funding assembled from one-off sources (pandemic relief, opioid settlements) is structurally unstable; securing a permanent city budget line is the critical unresolved risk.
Documented Jul 24, 2026