The GAF Cool Community Project just painted one million square feet of roads, playgrounds, and parking lots in the neighborhood of Pacoima, Los Angeles. The paint reflects infrared light so that the pavement absorbs less heat. Measured at mid-day, the team found a 30-degree difference compared to untreated pavement. Over the next two years, weekly data will be gathered throughout the neighborhood. The Pacoima project was led as a philanthropic initiative by roofing giant GAF, which has already worked with the City of Los Angeles’s Cool Streets Project and the L.A. Unified School District to paint almost 90 playgrounds and school parking lots across the city. If the initiative proves successful, they hope to replicate the model in other neighborhoods. Most surfaces were painted light gray, but a local artist designed colorful murals on a basketball court, a school playground, and a parking lot.

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