Census

The ways an urban neighborhood is built and the characteristics of the people who live there are both related to how hot it gets. That is the result of our study, published by the Journal of Buildings. If you have ever noticed that some parts of a city feel significantly hotter than others, you have experienced a phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect. This effect is most noticeable at night and when comparing rural and suburban surroundings with urban ones. How we did our work Our interdisciplinary group of researchers studied two Philadelphia census tracts and found a clear link between outdoor temperature and specific urban characteristics. We then asked whether these urban characteristics can be related to the social vulnerability of the residents. Social vulnerability is a concept that goes beyond the residents’ income to include housing conditions and characteristics of the people – such as their age, education, disability and race. Our social vulne...