Springfield, IL (WAND) – There’s a surprising amount of science behind the way that cities are planned and built. University of Illinois Springfield researcher and assistant professor of ecohydrology Kyle Blount is tackling research regarding environmental equity and impacts in cities.

“There’s this concept called the urban heat island where cities are hotter than surrounding rural areas, and that can interact with how much water is in the environment and where that water is going,” said Blount. “So a lot of my work has been focused on trying to understand how water and energy interact in urban environments, and how that affects how hot it is.” 

Blount explains their work with the simple idea of people being drawn to shade when it is hot outside. Their research shows that shaded areas in urban environments can be up to 36 degrees cooler.

Blount’s work doesn’t end when experiments are completed. Their published articles share the best ways to design and build cities with humans and the future in mind. 

“I always want to try and focus on policy relevant questions as much as possible and think about how we can inform managers and people making policy decisions to encourage things like development patterns that help keep us cooler, that minimize our water usage, and make us more efficient,” said Blount. 

Blount has active field sites in Springfield; Denver, Colorado; and Portland, Oregon. Using technology, Blount can collect data from these sites remotely and compare factors like soil moisture, soil temperature, surface temperature, and relative humidity. 

Blount was inspired to research issues related to water and weather after an international trip as a teenager. They encourage any kid who is interested in a STEM career to learn how to fail and keep trying. 

“Being able to fail is a part of science,” said Blount. “You have to be okay with getting bad results, with figuring out that what you thought was happening isn’t actually happening, and trying again. So if you feel like you’re not prepared, if you’re not ready, still pursue those opportunities. It’s okay to make mistakes. That’s how we learn and that’s actually a really essential part of doing science.”

Blount has recently co-authored two studies on steps for cities to reduce heat risks and design more equitable neighborhoods. They teach several courses at UIS.