Extreme heat adaptation planning: A review of evaluation, monitoring, and reporting

Extreme heat events are increasing in intensity and duration. Although heat adaptation planning is increasing across the US, the effectiveness of adaptation strategies across contexts remains unknown. Evaluation helps heat adaptation planners understand the impact of investments and increase accountability. To understand how evaluation is or is not happening in extreme heat planning, we purposively sampled and analyzed 65 plans that would likely include extreme heat adaptation strategies. We found that although 55% (n=36) of plans included heat evaluation or monitoring plans in some form, fewer than 30% (n=19) were associated with subsequent reports. Of these, only six were implemented as planned, and none were implemented at the regional or neighborhood level. We also found that monitoring indicators did not match the heat impacts, vulnerabilities, and needs identified in the plan. We provide evaluation recommendations to guide and support evaluation and monitoring efforts in the heat ..., We conducted a qualitative content analysis of 65 plans from federal, state, regional, and municipal sources to understand how planners approached evaluation and monitoring in heat planning. Plan analysis is especially appropriate for heat adaptation research, as planning documents may be the only public-facing documentation of interagency and inter-jurisdiction coordination (Keith et al., 2021). Most plans are adopted by governing bodies and indicate a measure of government accountability, which is essential for climate adaptation (Mees & Driessen, 2019).
We used purposive sampling to identify plans that were most likely to include heat adaptation strategies. Using professional networks and the Google search engine, we found nine standalone extreme heat adaptation plans: one state-level plan, two regional plans, four municipal plans, and two neighborhood-level plans. All but one were from the U.S. We then looked for plans from multiple levels of governance to identify heat adaptati..., , # Data from: Extreme heat adaptation planning: A review of evaluation, monitoring, and reporting

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vhhmgqp1t](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vhhmgqp1t)

## Description of the data and file structure

To understand how evaluation is or is not happening in extreme heat planning, we purposively sampled and analyzed 65 plans that would likely include extreme heat adaptation strategies. We used purposive sampling to identify plans that were most likely to include heat adaptation strategies. In total, the 65 plans covered a variety of jurisdictions: 26 federal, one state, ten regional, five metro-region, 21 municipal, and two neighborhood-level plans. All but one were from the United States.

For each plan document, we answered the following five questions: 1) Is extreme heat identified as a hazard in the plan? 2) Is there a strategy to respond to extreme heat? 3) How was evaluation used during the planning process? 4) How are evaluation and monitoring planned for...