A “street-smart” robot named MaRTy, the creation of Ariane Middel, an assistant professor in the School of Arts, Media and Engineering, is playing a role in strategies to keep Los Angeles cool as climate change is making things warmer — especially in major metropolitan areas. MaRTy, an assemblage of meteorological sensors, is one of the tools aiding researchers from ASU and UCLA in assessing what will and won’t work to diminish the impact from rising heat in the Los Angeles area. MaRTy is being used to evaluate the effectiveness of the city’s Cool Street program. Middel says efforts to reduce the urban heat island effect in cities, along with other climate change impacts, must be tackled not only on a technical level but approached as public health and community building efforts.