introduction

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 introduction 2 scope & limitations 3 surface heat 4 social vulnerability 5 social vulnerability to heat 6 coverage of NYCHA Cooling Centers 7 modifiable areal unit problem 8 neighborhood indicators 9 coverage of NYC Public Libraries 10 coverage of Cooling Centers & Public Libraries 11 conclusion 12 appendix | methodology 13 references

INTRODUCTION

The effects of the climate emergency on cities have emphasized the influence of the built environment on the way people experience extreme temperatures. The Green New Deal has highlighted these consequences, utilizing evidence from the “Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5ºC” and the “November 2018 Fourth National Climate Assessment report:” “Global warming at or above 2 degrees Celsius beyond preindustrialized levels will cause [...] more than 350,000,000 more people to be exposed globally to deadly heat stress by 2050.” (1) Extreme heat is not evenly distributed in cities, since this phenomenon is heavily influenced by urban design, population density, and access to social infrastructure. In this sense, what the Green New Deal defined as systemic injustices (2) can also affect the creation of Urban Heat Islands (UHI), (3) since there is a close relationship between places with higher temperature and vulnerability. (4)

“Global Warming at or above 2 degrees Celsius beyond

preindustrialized levels will cause more than 350 000 000 more people

to be exposed globally to deadly heat stress by 2050.”