A Canadian technology company is using aerial imagery to build high-precision maps of US shorelines that will be used to help coastal communities adapt to climate change. By cataloguing which neighborhoods have more impervious surfaces like sidewalks and driveways compared to permeable ground with vegetation and trees, policymakers can better predict where heat waves or storm surges are likely to wreak the most havoc, Toronto-based Ecopia AI said. The firm is making the maps for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as part of a project to support US coastal communities vulnerable to extreme weather.