September 2025 Newsletter
Dear All,
Welcome to the first monthly newsletter from the Melting Metropolis project team! We hope that these will help keep you in touch with our project’s research and activities. If you have any questions about the project, please contact me at chris.pearson@liverpool.ac.uk.
It’s been a very hot and dry summer in the UK, after two cooler ones, and it seems like the public discourse is shifting, with discussions about naming heatwaves and whether air conditioning is now needed. The project team experienced the heat first hand at the performance of Bryony Ella’s performance ‘Stand of the Sun’ and her ‘My Body is a Sundial’ artwork at Orleans House Gallery, London, around the time of the summer Solstice. You can read more about this performance here, or watch a short film by clicking the image below. We also co-hosted the Midsummer Meditations workshop, which was an opportunity to bring together artists, policy makers, community groups and researchers to discuss heat. Many thanks to Andy, Julie and the team at Orleans House Gallery for co-hosting it with us.
The Stand of the Sun performance. Photograph by Alberto Romano.
Welcoming our Community Storytellers
During the summer, we also welcomed our community storytellers to the team as part of our Community Storytelling Partnership in London and New York. Guided by project Community Engagement Lead Anna Ravenscroft, the storytellers will work with the project team and host partners to develop community-based narratives and creative activities around the issue of urban heat. You can read more about this initiative here, or follow us on social media where we will be posting our storyteller introductions throughout the month.
ESEH Conference
Last month, the 2025 edition of the Conference of the European Society for Environmental History took place in Uppsala, Sweden, on the theme of Climate Histories. Melting Metropolis had a contingent of seven members, who spoke across four different panels. Many thanks are due to everyone who came to listen to and exchange ideas with us! You can find out more about our presentations here.
New York
Over in New York, we have been advocating for climate action. Kara Schlichting and Queens College intern Selassie Mawuko argue that NYC needs a Heat Czar, based on Selassie’s research into the city’s myriad agencies who work on this issue. Click the image to read Selassie’s blog post on NYC’s fight against extreme heat.
Alongside Danny Cumming, Kara has worked with Urban Archive to encourage New Yorkers to share their memories and images of summer. Click the ‘Summer in the City’ image to read more about the UA open call for photos. You can also find out more about Danny & Kara’s research in this ‘Home with Queens College’ video.
NYC Event: 14th September, 2pm - 4pm
Come and join Kara & Danny at the Melting Metropolis pop-up at Second Sundays, where they will be talking about the urban summer. Follow the link for more information about this free open house event!
Connect with Us
You can stay up to date with the Melting Metropolis project by following our Instagram and Bluesky accounts, linked at the bottom of this email.
Many thanks for reading,
Chris