Climate Change, Heatwaves and Health: Local Tools for Sustainability, Equity and Prevention

Principal Investigator

Marie O'Neill

Co-Principal Investigator

Richard Rood

Co-Investigators

Daniel Brown, Edith Parker

Funding Sources

Graham Institute

About this Project

Climate change is projected to increase the frequency and intensity of heat events, and heat is already one of the principal weather-related causes of mortality in the U.S., taking a disproportionate toll on the elderly, the poor, and racial minorities. Heatwave health warning systems (HHWS), heat island mitigation through tree planting and other measures, and other programs administered by local governments can improve quality of life, foster environmental sustainability, and protect public health during heatwaves. With increasing evidence for accelerated climate change, wider implementation of these programs is needed. Yet, very few systematic studies of how these programs can be successfully implemented exist. This proposal aims to fill these knowledge gaps by conducting a case study in Detroit, a city with strong UM collaborative ties, where racial/ethnic and socio-economic disparities in heat exposure and heat-related health effects have been documented. The three part case study will evaluate heatwave preparedness and sustainability issues in Detroit. We aim to: 1) conduct an interview-based needs assessment (among residents and government officials); 2) develop a 'heat vulnerability mapping' decision support tool that will map several information sources at fine spatial-scale: temperature data; satellite images of land-cover relevant to heat exposure (green space, built environment characteristics); and demographic vulnerability indicators derived from the U.S. Census (including percent poverty, race/ethnic composition, elderly residents, and single-person households); and 3) design a prototype simple, inexpensive HHWS that could be implemented in Detroit (none currently exists) and validate the system using historical health outcome data (morbidity and mortality).