Extreme heat has always been part of life in San Antonio—but hotter temperatures are arriving earlier, lasting longer, and affecting some neighborhoods more than others.

This week on bigcitysmalltown, Cory Ames sits down with Laura Patiño, Director of the City of San Antonio’s Department of Resilience and Sustainability, to explore how the city is preparing for a hotter future.

Patiño breaks down San Antonio’s new Heat Resilience Playbook, a citywide strategy combining immediate heat response with long-term investments designed to make neighborhoods cooler, safer, and more comfortable.

They discuss how extreme heat affects everything from health and electricity bills to transportation and infrastructure—and why those impacts are often concentrated in neighborhoods with less tree canopy and more pavement.

📚 CHAPTERS
00:00 Heat Resilience Intro
00:32 Meet Laura Patiño
02:51 Global Roots Climate Path
04:35 San Antonio Sustainability Wins
08:10 Why Merge Resilience and Sustainability
10:51 How Hot Is It Getting
13:32 Health Economy Heat Impacts
15:39 Tracking Data Hotspots
18:10 Heat Playbook Framework
23:08 Reporting Progress Storytelling
27:16 Flagship Cool Neighborhoods
30:49 Resilience Hubs Pods Network
33:40 Funding Strategy Budget Reality
37:21 What Must Go Right
39:59 Wrap Up Credits

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📍 ABOUT THE SHOW

bigcitysmalltown is a show about the people who make San Antonio go and grow — exploring the forces shaping the city's future through thoughtful conversations, reporting, and place-based storytelling.

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