Embedded Files
"NPR: As Rising Heat Bakes U.S. Cities, The Poor Often Feel It Most" by Meg anderson and Sean Mcminn
"NPR: As Rising Heat Bakes U.S. Cities, The Poor Often Feel It Most" by Meg anderson and Sean Mcminn
- This article demonstrated the correlation between urban heat islands and income with maps such as the ones to the left (Top: Los Angeles, CA Bottom Lexington, KY)
- Explained how city environments tend to be hotter due to excessive concrete, buildings, population density, and lack of vegetation
- Emphasized that low income households feel the worst effects of these climate change exacerbated urban heat islands because they do not have the financial means to combat the negative health impacts
- (Anderson and McMinn 2019)
- This piece offered great visual references to make topics of increased urban heat more clear to interviewees and emphasize how the social determinants of health (like income) are prevelant with respect to urban heat islands
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This is a street on the edge of Broadway East, one of the city’s hottest neighborhoods. It’s also in one of the poorest areas of Baltimore.
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(Anderson and McMinn 2019)
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Roland Park is a cooler neighborhood in a more affluent part of the city.
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(Anderson and McMinn 2019)
Climate Change induced Heat Waves
Climate Change induced Heat Waves
"What Anthropologists Can Do About Climate" by Ben Orlove
- Climate change stems from interactions between human society and activity and the biological/physical systems of the planet
- Anthropocene era → an increasing accumulation of human activity to the point its the most dominant influence on the Earth’s climate and environment (Orlove 2013)
- Daily record high temperatures have been extremely frequent
- Heat waves are becoming increasingly common especially in areas that have not experienced them before (Orlove 2013)
"Research on Urban Heat-Island Effect" by Li Yang et al.
- Urban heat islands = a heat accumulation phenomenon that is exacerbated when vegetation is replaced with urban construction, human activities, and waste heat (Yang 2016)
- We need more [natural things] to mitigate the heat accumulation
- For example, rivers and lakes could improve the heat transporting process as well as distribute fresh air to balance the urban temperatures (Yang 2016)
"The health effects of hotter summers and heat waves in the population of the United Kingdom: a review of the evidence" by Katherine G. Arbuthnott et al.
- U.S. cities tend to have temperatures at least 10° F warmer than surrounding natural land areas.
- Heat waves/temperature rises have a positive correlation with the number of respiratory deaths
- Respiratory diseases are more sensitive from heat and when temperatures rise well above threshold values than are cardiovascular diseases
- (Arbuthnott et al., 2017)
- This anthropological work demonstrates how heat waves had an effect on people's lives living in urban heat islands
"Urban climates and heat islands: albedo, evapotranspiration, and anthropogenic heat" by Haider Taha
- Anthropogenic heating is one of the major causes of temperature rises in urban centers
- Urban settings have more black asphalt, concrete, and other man-made materials that absorb heat in their surfaces and release it which causes a temperature warming
- (Taha 1997)
- The study demonstrated that increasing albedo (reflective surfaces) and vegetation cover can be effective in reducing the surface and air temperatures near the ground
HEat waves impact on health in Urban areas
HEat waves impact on health in Urban areas
“'I Feel Suffocated:' Understandings of Climate Change in an Inner City Heat Island" by Merrill Singer et al.
- Ethnographic study of Latinos in Hartford, CT and their perceptions of this issue of climate change induced heat waves
- Explains how the climate change intensified urban heat island effect impacts the health of vulnerable populations significantly more
- Provided specific examples of health issues caused by heat including heat stroke, respiratory distress, the intensification of pre-existing conditions, and the lack of ability to keep food and medications at safe temperatures
- (Singer 2016)
- "Rising urban temperatures pose grave risks to those made especially vulnerable because of poverty, pre-existing health conditions, age, pregnancy, or lack of access to information and prevention resources" (Singer 2016: 453)
- This study, as it took place in Connecticut, was a great source of information to present to interviewees and gauge their reaction on this issue so close to UConn
"Beyond Global Warming: Interacting Ecocrises and the Critical Anthropology of Health" by Merrill Singer
- Peer- reviewed article explaining the complex nature of the health problems caused by climate change
- Health problems caused by "ecocrises" are not simple one-to-one relationships, therefore making them hard to combat and comprehend amongst the general population
- (Singer 2010)
- This article was beneficial to understanding the confusion around health impacts of climate change induced heat waves
"Urban Heat: Rising Temperatures as Critique in India's Air-Conditioned City" by Camille Frazier
- Case study describing rising temperatures in Bengaluru, India and residents' interpretation of this phenomenon
- Notes that climate change is a large contributing factor for the rising temperatures in the city
- Residents placed blame for this heat on rapid urbanization, but had more trouble connecting it to climate change
- (Frazier 2017)
- This anthropological work was beneficial in demonstrating the lack of knowledge people have on how climate change impacts urban environments and how they justify hotter temperatures
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