LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE, Calif. (AP) — When sculptor Bobby Zokaites moved to Phoenix in the summer of 2011, walking the half mile to classes at Arizona State University in triple-digit heat felt risky. He learned to find shade along his route — resting in a stoplight's sliver of it, dodging the sizzling sun at each opportunity.

“It was pretty crazy,” he recalled.

Those experiences influenced one of Zokaites' latest projects: he was one of nine artists commissioned this year to bring shade to the region.

Across the U.S., cities are weaving art, science and community engagement to protect people from extreme heat and communicate its risks. As cities adapt to hotter temperatures, driven by human-caused climate change, and contend with urban heat, shade is playing a critical role. But communi

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