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Residents ask Phoenix to fund community‑led heat‑resilience plan for Maryville, citing 4–8°F neighborhood difference
Summary
Organizers and residents told the City Council at a Spanish‑language budget hearing that Maryville experiences temperatures 4–6°F higher than surrounding neighborhoods, and requested dedicated funds and a community‑led resilience plan to reduce heat impacts.
Community organizers and residents urged Phoenix leaders to fund a community‑led heat‑resilience plan for Maryville, a neighborhood participants said is substantially hotter than surrounding areas.
Dafne Cortés, a community organizer with Rumbo, said Maryville is "el área más caliente de la ciudad" and told the Council residents report temperatures "4 a 6 grados más caliente" than other neighborhoods in summer. Cortés asked for targeted investments in shade, cooler bus stops and safer walkways and requested that the city dedicate funds for a Maryville resilience plan developed with local residents and community organizations.
Luis Ávila, co‑founder of Rumbo, told the Council the city has many plans but limited coordinated implementation, and that "la implementación tiene que estar hecha en la comunidad"; he urged the Council to allocate funding so Maryville can pilot strategies such as tree planting, shade infrastructure and localized cooling interventions.
Organizers noted some partnership work already underway with District 5 staff and cited tree plantings and splash pad projects, but said fragmentation among plans limits results. Speakers asked the city to prioritize Maryville in the draft budget and to fund a resilience plan that local leaders would help implement.
Ending: Organizers said they are ready to partner with Council offices on plan design and implementation; no formal Council commitment or vote was recorded during the hearing.
