urban heat

This episode delves into the intersections of climate change, community well-being, justice and restoration of our urban ecosystems. The focus is on urban heat and the challenge of heat islands. Treehugger is joined by Vivek Shandas who Professor of Climate Adaptation and Director of the Sustaining Urban Places Research Lab at Portland State University. Dr. Shandas' studies the effects of urban development patterns and processes on environmental health. By examining the assumptions about our built environment, Dr. Shandas supports communities in improving their adaptation from climate stressors, including extreme events such as urban heat, air quality, and storms. Vivek serves as Chair of the City of Portland's Urban Forestry Commission, and on several other local and national advisory boards.

Global average temperatures are already 1° Celsius warmer than previous centuries. An average doesn’t speak to what will be a dramatically unequal experience of future heat. Parts of the world have already warmed by more than twice the global average today. That trend will leave more people vulnerable to extreme heat, which has been linked to a 50% increase in mortality risk from stroke, cardiovascular disease and pulmonary conditions. Some 12,000 people in the U.S. die prematurely from heat-related causes each year, a figure that could increase as much as eightfold by 2099.

treehugger mixtape on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7eToZ1T7SUzMYC4CktIEeF?si=uozZvq8tRIWu2Krq0788-g

Bloomburg Life and Death in Our Hot Future Will Be Shaped by Today’s Income Inequality By Eric Roston, Paul Murray and Rachael Dottle

Climate & Mind Resources for Climate Anxiety https://www.climateandmind.org/

Hoffman, J. S., Shandas, V., & Pendleton, N. (2020). The effects of historical housing policies on resident exposure to intra-urban heat: A study of 108 US urban areas. Climate, 8(1), 12.

New York Times. Earth is overheating. Millions are already feeling the pain. A series of photo essays documenting the outsize effect that extreme heat has on the poor and marginalized

Thanks for the Seattle band Dumb Thumbs for providing the theme song. You can find all of their tunes at dumbthumbs.bandcamp.com.

Tell a few friends about the show and follow the podcast on the socials @treehuggerpod

Review treehugger podcast on iTunes