The NAU MPA program sent two student teams to compete in the Mesa Project. The goal of the Mesa Project is for MPA students at NAU, ASU and UA to present solutions for issues the City of Mesa is confronting.
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- Team One: Phoenix Eskridge-Aldama and Eric Wise: Eskridge-Aldama and Wise worked on a scalable tree cover project for the city of Mesa. They address climate change adaptation and mitigation as it pertains to thermal comfort and walkability in the city of Mesa. They modeled and analyzed a potential tree cover expansion effort in Mesa’s downtown district, which aligns with several goals expressed by the City of Mesa.
- Team Two: Jessica Watson, Kylie Luth and Vicente Carlos Ontiveros: Watson, Luth and Ontiveros worked on harm reduction suggestions for the city of Mesa in response to the opioid epidemic. Their report builds a background on the current actions in the city of Mesa and the state of Arizona in response to the opioid epidemic. Based on the information analyzed, they suggest implementing the following actions to address the opioid epidemic in Mesa: raising awareness about the availability of naloxone, public education on opioids and a fentanyl test strip and a syringe exchange program.
Check it out in the NAU Review here!