Summer of Extremes: Resources for Heat Stress in Cities

On the 25th Anniversary of Chicago Heatwave of 1995, the documentary film Cooked: Survival by Zipcode examines how disparities stem from deep societal issues, such as racism and poverty, and what communities can do today to promote health.

The tragedy of the Chicago Heatwave of 1995 provides lessons for Michigan as warmer summer weather begins. The documentary film “Cooked: Survival by Zipcode” was shown and discussed on Detroit Public Television in cooperation with many local public health organizations. Although we can prevent adverse health outcomes from heat; the film illuminates how low-resourced communities have less ability to mitigate heat and suffer from higher prevalence of chronic health conditions that make them more vulnerable to these extreme weather events. The disproportionately higher number of deaths among low-wealth and communities of color point to structural issues in our cities that often compound pre-existing health conditions during extreme weather events such as heat waves. 

The history of the Chicago heat wave of 1995 provides insights into actions we can take today to promote health and wellness for the most vulnerable residents in our communities before these events happen. If we have learned anything from the heat wave of 1995 it is that city officials, scientists, social organizations must be proactive in addressing public health concerns which include, now more than ever, the effects of climate change on vulnerable populations.

For the next three days, June 23-25th, there will be a series of three virtual panel discussions with the film maker, Judith Judith Helfand, and Eric Klinenberg author of the book Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago, discussing how cities can learn from past events and prepare for the future.

Over the past five years, heat waves across the U.S. and Europe have resulted in thousands of deaths. These extreme weather conditions have also increased hospitalization rates for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. These heat health impacts are a direct consequence of extreme heat exposure and a result of the disparities that stem from deeper structural issues in society, such as racism and poverty.

These same societal issues create vulnerability for low-resource and communities of color from other threats, such as the current COVID pandemic. The data show disparities by race and ethnicity among COIVD-related deaths that expose the differential access to care, access to resources, and access to education, and consequently disparities in chronic health conditions in our Michigan communities. As we try to implement social distancing techniques and other measures to reduce the spread of the COVID virus our city officials must also include additional planning to address related health issues such as heat stress. Although it is a good step that Wayne County, Michigan has closed swimming pools to enforce social distancing, this move comes with adverse affects to some populations. With swimming pools and air-conditioned places now closed off to the general public, residents who may have relied on these locations to escape the heat now find themselves with little recourse to battle the extreme temperatures.

In this example we can see how plans to dial back these resources to serve one health concern can have unintended consequences and compound adverse health affects for already vulnerable communities. When specific populations or demographic groups account for an overwhelming proportion of health disparities it is a problem in itself; however, when the same communities continue to suffer over and over again from compounding health issues it is emblematic of a much larger problem in our cities. As we prepare our cities for climate change, it is imperative that planners and scientists work together to find innovative and resourceful methods to support our most vulnerable populations from being further disadvantaged by changes to city infrastructure and resources.

In response to these urgent health challenges, our team created the MI-Environment Heat Vulnerability Index map. This online tool helps community and academic leaders identify areas with vulnerable populations and applies a cumulative environmental framework in Michigan. This framework allows for assessment of strategies acknowledging that people can be exposed to multiple environmental and social stressors. 

In a peer-reviewed article, our team identified geospatial patterns in Michigan to reveal the relative heat stress vulnerability for the entire state. Vulnerability to heat is linked to characteristics in our environment (e.g., urban heat island effect), ambient temperatures, as well as people’s susceptibility to heat. Our assessment takes into account all of these factors when calculating relative heat stress vulnerability across the state. Our results highlight that urbanized areas in Michigan, such as Detroit, are relatively more vulnerable to heat stress. Urbanized areas often have more impervious surface and less tree canopy cover than rural areas, which can cause temperatures to rise at a faster rate. 

Research like this is a step in the right direction of examining who is most vulnerable and identifying where they are located in the city. However, adequate research is only half the battle when preparing for future weather events. In addition to performing this research, our city officials must also invest in collective strategies that deliberately support our most vulnerable populations through proactive education, sponsored programs and the contribution of city resources.

One of the key lessons of the historic Chicago heat wave was that communities with higher levels of social connection, where neighbors look in on the elderly and know each other, had better health outcomes, regardless of income level. Although during the current pandemic we must practice social distancing, it is important that we continue to strengthen our social bonds and reinforce our commitment to justice for those most at risk in order to ameliorate the worst effects of these extreme weather events.

The good news is that we can all do something to promote better outcomes for ourselves and others by preparing for heat emergencies in advance and strengthening our commitment to supporting at-risk residents. By being good stewards in our neighborhoods and sharing resources with one another we can help our communities overcome some of the structural issues in the built and social environments that often work to decrease quality of life for certain groups.

The best ways to promote health in our communities are by looking after one another, sharing educational resources and discussing best practices for staying safe. That is why our team at Romo-GIS has provided a map of cooling centers in the Detroit Metro area along with a few other resources from the Center for Disease Control to help inform people about how they can stay cool and safe during these extreme weather conditions.

Find A Cooling Center Near You

Beat The Heat: Tips from the Center for Disease Control

For more information visit the Center for Disease Control website to see how you can keep yourself and your family safe during extreme heat events.

For more information about some of the resources in this article please visit the citation below.

Health and Place: Koman, P.D., Romo, F., Swinton, P., Mentz, G.B., de Majo, R.F., Sampson, N.R., Battaglia, M.J., Hill-Knott, K., Williams, G.O., O’Neill, M.S., Schulz, A.J., 2019. MI-Environment: Geospatial patterns and inequality of relative heat stress vulnerability in Michigan. Health Place 60, 102228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.102228

Contributors: Trish Koman & Frank Romo