The people living in urban heat islands are much more likely to be inhabited by low-income people of color, and the roots of the environmental justice issue can be found in planning history.
Kale Williams shares news of a new study that connects urban heat islands (areas where temperatures are exacerbated by the built environment) to a history of racist land use regulations.
Now, a new study from Portland State University is showing, for the first time, that areas prone to excessive heat are disproportionately populated by low-income communities and people of color due to racist housing policies that stretch back more than a century.
Williams summarizes more of the study's findings:
Nearly every city included in the study saw higher temperatures in neighborhoods that were historically subject to discriminatory housing policies, with poorer areas seeing averages temperatures about five degrees higher than their wealthier counterparts. And, of the 108 urban areas analyzed, Portland came in with the worst temperature discrepancy between rich and poor, a difference of almost 13 degrees.
Jeremy S. Huffman, Vivek Shandas, and Nicholas Pendleton wrote the study, which was published in the Climate journal.
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.