Michael Mendez
Assistant Professor of Urban Planning and Public Policy | UC Irvine
Irvine, CA, UNITED STATES
Michael Mendez has experience in the public and private sectors, where he consulted and actively engaged in the policymaking process.
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Biography
Dr. Michael Mendez is an assistant professor of environmental policy and planning at the University of California, Irvine. He previously was the inaugural James and Mary Pinchot Faculty Fellow in Sustainability Studies at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Michael has more than a decade of senior-level experience in the public and private sectors, where he consulted and actively engaged in the policymaking process. This included working for the California State Legislature as a senior consultant, lobbyist, gubernatorial appointee, and as vice chair of the Sacramento City Planning Commission.
During his time at UC Irvine and Yale, he has contributed to state and national research policy initiatives, including serving as an advisor to a California Air Resources Board member, and as a participant of the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s workgroup on “Climate Vulnerability and Social Science Perspectives.” Most recently, Michael was appointed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to the Board on Environmental Change and Society (BECS). He also serves as a panel reviewer for the National Academies of Sciences’ Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP).
Michael holds three degrees in environmental planning and policy, including a PhD from UC Berkeley’s Department of City and Regional Planning, and a graduate degree from MIT. His research on the intersection of climate change and communities of color has been featured in national publications including Urban Land (published by the Urban Land Institute); the Natural Resources Defense Fund Annual Report; the American Planning Association’s Planning Magazine; Green 2.0: Leadership at Work; USA Today; and Fox Latino News. His new book “Climate Change from the Streets,” published through Yale University Press (2020), is an urgent and timely story of the contentious politics of incorporating environmental justice into global climate change policy.
Areas of Expertise (5)
Global climate change policy
Environmental Planning
Public Policy
Legislative Relations
Climate Change
Accomplishments (5)
Paul Davidoff Book Award (professional)
2023 Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP)
Practice and Outreach Award (professional)
2023 American Sociological Association (ASA) - Section on Environmental Sociology
Latino/a Water Pioneers, Leaders & Heroes Award (professional)
2023 Mujeres de la Tierra in collaboration with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the Water Replenishment District
Harold & Margaret Sprout Award (professional)
2021 International Studies Association
Betty & Alfred McClung Lee Award (professional)
2021 Association for Humanist Sociology
Education (3)
University of California, Berkeley: PhD, Science and Technology Studies and Environmental Policy 2015
Department of City and Regional Planning
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MCP, Environmental Planning and Policy
Department of Urban Studies and Planning
California State University, Northridge: BA, Urban Studies and Planning
Links (4)
Media Appearances (10)
Study: Weather extremes are influencing illegal migration and return between the U.S. and Mexico
Associated Press online
2024-11-08
Increased surveillance and enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border make returning home — and moving back and forth — more difficult, said Michael Méndez, assistant professor of environmental policy and planning at the University of California, Irvine. And once undocumented migrants are in the U.S., they often live in dilapidated housing, lack health care or work in industries such as construction or agriculture that make them vulnerable to other climate impacts, he said.
New study: Air quality data from 2020 wildfires shows danger smoke poses for ag workers
The Press Democrat online
2024-08-23
New research on the dangers agricultural laborers face as climate change contributes to larger, more frequent wildfires has rekindled criticism of Sonoma County policies that researchers say prioritize wine industry interests over worker health. … Wildfire smoke “is a toxic soup” of vegetation, chemicals, metals, building materials and more, and is “several times more harmful to humans than car exhaust,” said lead researcher Michael Méndez, assistant professor of urban planning and public policy at the University of California, Irvine. “Workers are putting their health on the line,” Méndez said.
Hundreds of deaths, thousands of injuries, billions of dollars: The cost of extreme heat in California
Cal Matters online
2024-07-08
A blistering California heat wave over the past week and through the Fourth of July holiday could be topped off by the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth. That kind of extreme heat has led to more deaths than wildfires and cost billions of dollars over a decade, according to the state insurance department. … Michael Mendez, an assistant professor of environmental planning and policy at UC Irvine and author of “Climate Change from the Streets,” agreed that the toll is most likely higher, because extreme heat’s effects can be hard to designate and quantify. “It’s really important to understand that heat is a silent killer,” Mendez said. Yet extreme heat “requires the same amount of speed in action that large disasters get, such as wildfires,” he added.
Our top-ranking cities for climate resiliency: 2024 study
USA Today online
2024-05-13
“The two main ways we have witnessed climate change in recent years are related to water and heat,” said Michael Méndez, assistant professor in the department of Urban Planning and Policy at the University of California, Irvine. “That can look like extreme drought, flooding and rising temperatures. These are what we call ‘climate whiplashes’ — a major shift from one set of persistent weather conditions to a very different set.”
Parents, climate advocates emphasize equity and inclusivity in “greening” of LAUSD schools
KABC online
2024-04-22
UCI Assistant Professor [of urban planning & public policy] Michael Méndez said LAUSD has done an adequate job of engaging parents and stakeholders in green schools and climate resiliency projects. Still, he and the Alliance for a Better Community are advocating for more inclusive and equitable efforts. "Groups that Alliance for a Better Community works with – largely non-English speaking non-US born immigrant parents – are often left out of that community engagement project" said Méndez. They released a new report with recommendations.
Same-Sex Couples Face Higher Climate Change Risks, New UCLA Study Shows
KQED online
2024-04-19
The new research moves the needle in helping the nation understand who is at risk of climate disasters, UC Irvine [assistant professor of urban planning and public policy] Michael Méndez said. He previously studied how queer communities are often left out of disaster planning. “The needle is moving slowly,” Méndez said. “These disasters are not happening in isolation. If an individual is feeling discrimination, or a lack of safety in their home and a disaster happens, they can feel even more vulnerable.” But what Méndez said the study doesn’t reveal is who the same-sex couples are in terms of race, income and their positions in society.
Hotter temperatures mean higher utility costs for millions of Americans
CBS News online
2024-04-22
Michael Mendéz, a climate change researcher and assistant professor at University of California, Irvine, added that many communities around the country can see extreme temperatures for as many as 10 months a year. "Because of this, individuals have to pay higher utility bills to maintain a comfortable home. Particularly those on fixed incomes and that are lower-income are making the choice between keeping their household cooler or paying grocery bills," Mendéz said. So it's having a significant impact on households and their ability to pay for other basic necessities, like groceries."
How urban heat islands make the impacts of excessive heat worse
PBS online
2023-07-27
Living in certain parts of a city can make the impacts of extreme heat worse. That’s because of a phenomenon called the urban heat island effect. A recent report by the research group Climate Central showed that more than 40 million Americans live in these hot spots. William Brangham discussed what this means for those residents with Michael Mendez of the University of California, Irvine.
UCI’s Michael Méndez is named a 2022 Andrew Carnegie Fellow
UCI News online
2022-04-26
The University of California, Irvine’s Michael Méndez has been named to the 2022 class of Andrew Carnegie Fellows. The assistant professor of urban planning and public policy joins an exclusive cohort of 28 distinguished individuals nationwide selected from nearly 300 nominees. Each will receive $200,000 for a research sabbatical focused on their study in the social sciences or humanities – the most generous stipend of its type.
The 10 Books That Scientists Say Can Make A Difference In The Climate Crisis
HuffPost online
2024-04-12
"Climate Change from the Streets: How Conflict and Collaboration Strengthen the Environmental Justice Movement" by Michael Méndez. Michael Méndez is an assistant professor of environmental policy and planning at the University of California, Irvine. In his debut book, Méndez offers a platform to those most impacted by extreme climate change and their efforts to effect real climate policy changes.
Research Grants (3)
2024 Seed Funding Opportunity for Mobilities to Mexico
University of California $41,000
2023-2024
2024 Integrated and Equitable Climate Action (Land Use Planning and environmental Justice)
University of California, Office of the President $340,000
2023 -2026
Newkirk Faculty Fellow
University of California Irvine, Newkirk Center for Science & Society $5000
2023-2024
Articles (5)
Climate Change, Migration, and Health Disparities at and Beyond the US-Mexico Border
JAMA2024 In 2022, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported that weather-related events had displaced approximately 21.5 million people worldwide each year between 1999 and 2019, more than twice the number of people displaced by conflict and violence.
Connecting physical and social science datasets: challenges and pathways forward
Environmental Research Communications2023 The integration of physical and social science data can enable novel frameworks, methodologies, and innovative solutions important for addressing complex socio-environmental problems. Unfortunately, many technical, procedural, and institutional challenges hamper effective data integration—detracting from interdisciplinary socio-environmental research and broader public impact.
Understanding Challenges to Health Equity in Climate Action and Land Use Planning
American Journal of Public Health (AJPH)2023 Cole et al. (p. 185 in this issue of AJPH) argue that health equity is crucial to addressing the human health consequences of climate change. They underscore how effective climate action requires meaningful public engagement processes focused on increasing community capacity and the power to reduce health disparities in marginalized neighborhoods.
Only One Earth: Global health and climate justice on world environment day and beyond
World Medical & Health Policy2022 The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened and exposed existing health vulnerabilities and the race and class disproportionalities associated with health, economic, and social resource access. COVID-19 has revealed the depths to which inequities are entrenched in our everyday lives and local, national, and global structures.
Queer and present danger: understanding the disparate impacts of disasters on LGBTQ+ communities
Disasters2021 LGBTQ+ communities comprise 16 million individuals in the United States, yet this population is often rendered invisible within disaster policies. Bias in federal disaster response programmes, a lack of recognition of LGBTQ+ families, and the prevalence of faith-based organisations in disaster relief services together heighten the risks that LGBTQ+ individuals face.
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