More extremely hot days, more heat exposure and fewer cooling options for people of color in Connecticut, U.S.
Abstract It is well-documented that people of color in the U.S. are disproportionately exposed to extreme urban heat. However, most studies have focused on large cities for one point in time, and less is known about how heat exposure changes over time in smaller cities. Here, we present a study of t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2024-11-01
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| Series: | npj Urban Sustainability |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-024-00186-5 |
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| author | Shijuan Chen Katie Lund Colleen Murphy-Dunning Karen C. Seto |
| author_facet | Shijuan Chen Katie Lund Colleen Murphy-Dunning Karen C. Seto |
| author_sort | Shijuan Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract It is well-documented that people of color in the U.S. are disproportionately exposed to extreme urban heat. However, most studies have focused on large cities for one point in time, and less is known about how heat exposure changes over time in smaller cities. Here, we present a study of the changing nature of urban heat exposure and cooling strategies for ten cities in Connecticut in the U.S. Our results show that people of color experience more heat exposure and fewer adaptation strategies. They experienced higher overall temperatures, more extremely hot days, and larger increases in heat exposure. Also, they have lower air conditioning ownership rates and lower tree cover. Taken together, the results indicate that people of color are not only exposed to higher temperatures but also disproportionately exposed to increasing temperatures over time. With lower heat adaptation capacity, people of color are more vulnerable to increasing urban heat. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-af575da8b94e4e4b93f926b2a3b8be92 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2661-8001 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | npj Urban Sustainability |
| spelling | doaj-art-af575da8b94e4e4b93f926b2a3b8be922025-08-20T02:18:24ZengNature Portfolionpj Urban Sustainability2661-80012024-11-014111110.1038/s42949-024-00186-5More extremely hot days, more heat exposure and fewer cooling options for people of color in Connecticut, U.S.Shijuan Chen0Katie Lund1Colleen Murphy-Dunning2Karen C. Seto3Yale School of the Environment, Yale UniversityYale School of the Environment, Yale UniversityYale School of the Environment, Yale UniversityYale School of the Environment, Yale UniversityAbstract It is well-documented that people of color in the U.S. are disproportionately exposed to extreme urban heat. However, most studies have focused on large cities for one point in time, and less is known about how heat exposure changes over time in smaller cities. Here, we present a study of the changing nature of urban heat exposure and cooling strategies for ten cities in Connecticut in the U.S. Our results show that people of color experience more heat exposure and fewer adaptation strategies. They experienced higher overall temperatures, more extremely hot days, and larger increases in heat exposure. Also, they have lower air conditioning ownership rates and lower tree cover. Taken together, the results indicate that people of color are not only exposed to higher temperatures but also disproportionately exposed to increasing temperatures over time. With lower heat adaptation capacity, people of color are more vulnerable to increasing urban heat.https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-024-00186-5 |
| spellingShingle | Shijuan Chen Katie Lund Colleen Murphy-Dunning Karen C. Seto More extremely hot days, more heat exposure and fewer cooling options for people of color in Connecticut, U.S. npj Urban Sustainability |
| title | More extremely hot days, more heat exposure and fewer cooling options for people of color in Connecticut, U.S. |
| title_full | More extremely hot days, more heat exposure and fewer cooling options for people of color in Connecticut, U.S. |
| title_fullStr | More extremely hot days, more heat exposure and fewer cooling options for people of color in Connecticut, U.S. |
| title_full_unstemmed | More extremely hot days, more heat exposure and fewer cooling options for people of color in Connecticut, U.S. |
| title_short | More extremely hot days, more heat exposure and fewer cooling options for people of color in Connecticut, U.S. |
| title_sort | more extremely hot days more heat exposure and fewer cooling options for people of color in connecticut u s |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-024-00186-5 |
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