Examining the Optimal Placement of Cooling Centers to Serve Populations at High Risk of Extreme Heat Exposure in 81 US Cities.

Autor:	Adams QH; Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA., Chan EMG; Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA., Spangler KR; Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA., Weinberger KR; School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada., Lane KJ; Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA., Errett NA; Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA., Hess JJ; Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA., Sun Y; Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA., Wellenius GA; Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA., Nori-Sarma A; Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974) [Public Health Rep] 2023 Nov-Dec; Vol. 138 (6), pp. 955-962. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Feb 01.
DOI:	10.1177/00333549221148174
Abstrakt:	Objective: Although extreme heat can impact the health of anyone, certain groups are disproportionately affected. In urban settings, cooling centers are intended to reduce heat exposure by providing air-conditioned spaces to the public. We examined the characteristics of populations living near cooling centers and how well they serve areas with high social vulnerability. Methods: We identified 1402 cooling centers in 81 US cities from publicly available sources and analyzed markers of urban heat and social vulnerability in relation to their locations. Within each city, we developed cooling center access areas, defined as the geographic area within a 0.5-mile walk from a center, and compared sociodemographic characteristics of populations living within versus outside the access areas. We analyzed results by city and geographic region to evaluate climate-relevant regional differences. Results: Access to cooling centers differed among cities, ranging from 0.01% (Atlanta, Georgia) to 63.2% (Washington, DC) of the population living within an access area. On average, cooling centers were in areas that had higher levels of social vulnerability, as measured by the number of people living in urban heat islands, annual household income below poverty, racial and ethnic minority status, low educational attainment, and high unemployment rate. However, access areas were less inclusive of adult populations aged ≥65 years than among populations aged <65 years. Conclusion: Given the large percentage of individuals without access to cooling centers and the anticipated increase in frequency and severity of extreme heat events, the current distribution of centers in the urban areas that we examined may be insufficient to protect individuals from the adverse health effects of extreme heat, particularly in the absence of additional measures to reduce risk. Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe authors declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: G.A.W. currently serves as a consultant for Google, LLC and the Health Effects Institute.
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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