Slides from The Environment as a Social Determinant of Health – Heat

1. The environment as a social
determinant of health
The Path Forward Webinar Series | Weitzman Institute
David Hondula, ASU School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning
March 25, 2021
E-mail: David.Hondula@asu.edu
Twitter: @ASUHondula

2. The Southwest is a testbed for
developing adaptation strategies that
other cities may need.
Frontiers in Ecology & Environment, 2019

4. “I think the biggest
hurdle is that mitigating
heat is nobody’s
responsibility, yet it’s
everybody’s concern”

5. FEMA investment in heat mitigation
and recovery projects, all time

6. “…participants…were uncertain of how heat
preparedness and response aligns with their
current responsibilities. Some emergency
management professionals even perceived that
heat was outside of their scope of work.”
BAMS 2019

7. 7

8. 36%
Phoenix respondents reporting symptoms of heat illness
(Hayden et al. 2011)
27%
Maricopa County households reporting that they “sometimes”
feel too hot inside their homes in the summer
(MCDPH CASPER)

9. 9
Jenerette, G. D., Harlan, S. L., Buyantuev, A., Stefanov, W. L., Declet-Barreto, J., Ruddell, B. L., ... & Li, X.
(2016). Micro-scale urban surface temperatures are related to land-cover features and residential heat related
health impacts in Phoenix, AZ USA. Landscape Ecology, 31(4), 745-760.
Hotter neighborhoods
More
heat
illness

10. Heat accounts for more
deaths than nearly all other
weather hazards combined.

11. Out of every 100 weather-related deaths in the U.S. (per NCHS)
63 are related to cold
31 are related to heat
6 are related to everything else
Heat accounts for more
deaths than nearly all other
weather hazards combined.

12. 12
98
60 58
88
97
120 123
81
64
84
147
168 164
169
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Heat-Related Deaths in Maricopa County, 2006-2019
Adjusted Heat Deaths Predicted Heat Deaths based on weather
Increase in social vulnerability driven
by decrease in support services?
Putnam H, Hondula DM, Urban A, Berisha V, Iñiguez P, Roach M. It’s not the heat, it’s the vulnerability: attribution of the 2016
spike in heat-associated deaths in Maricopa County, Arizona. Environmental research letters. 2018 Sep 19;13(9):094022.

13. HeatReady Cities Framework
Mitigation
Actions
(make the city cooler
and more comfortable)
Green infrastructure
Materials and coatings
Waste heat
Shade structures
Water features
Building geometry
Air movement
Adaptation
Actions
(help people cope with heat)
Messaging and education
Cool public places
Cool homes
Cool workplaces+
Reliable infrastructure
Schedules and routes
Social cohesion and support
Internal
Actions
(support decision-making
by city staff)
Roles and responsibilities
Visions and goals
City plans
External coordination
Community input
Data resources
Capacity building
Equity, Sustainability, and Institutionalization

14. CDC’s Climate-Ready States & Cities Initiative

15. 0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Total Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Percent
of
respondents
reporting
"Yes"
Frequency of reporting "too hot in home"
Do you know where cooling centers are located in your area?

16. Supporting local cooling center networks

17. Community-driven heat action planning

18. @ASUHondula

19. Mapping Hot & Cool Spots
19

20. Resident-identified Problems and Assets
20

21. Prioritized and contextualized urban heat solutions
“Residents have
PhDs in their own
experiences with
heat”

22. Active Transportation Recommendations/Toolbox

24. • Health and quality of life impacts
of heat are significant and
disproportionately fall on certain
communities
• Governance gap has left us
underprepared for a growing
hazard, but we can change course
• Authentic community engagement
is critical for meeting the heat
challenge; health is well
positioned to do so

25. E-mail: David.Hondula@asu.edu
Twitter: @ASUHondula
Photo credit Mary Wright, ASU