Reflective cool payments in L.A. help beat the heat, high temperatures

In the mostly Latino neighborhood of Pacoima in Los Angeles, a "cool pavement" project with solar-reflective coating is helping disperse heat and could be a playbook for other predominantly working-class neighborhoods.

LOS ANGELES — Street vendor José Damián has lived in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacoima for the past five years and has felt temperatures hit 105 degrees as he’s pushed his cart of Mexican street snacks and shaved ice in the blazing midday sun.

But the heat had never stopped him from doing his job until last summer.

While heading to Sara Coughlin Elementary School, he was sweating excessively and became dizzy. He decided to get checked out at a hospital.

“All of the salt in my body was depleted,” said Damián, who drank about 15 water bottles that day. “Now I bring my Gatorades. I don’t walk too much anymore. I stop at certain spots with shade.”

Pacoima residents have long suffered from high temperatures. Cecilia Zepeda, 60, said the heat can be unbearable even into the night. Georginna Carrasco, who grew up in the neighborhood and now has two kids, said she usually takes three showers a day and keeps her apartment lights off to cool down. She sometimes has to make the difficult decision of keeping the AC off during the summer because it can get too costly.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/reflective-payments-cooling-heat-latinos-california-rcna141458

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