The Influence of Urban Street Characteristics on Pedestrian Heat Comfort Levels in Philadelphia

This article demonstrates a way to model the urban microclimate using a combination of statistical analysis and a geographic information system (GIS). Field measurements of ambient temperature and relative humidity were collected in various urban settings at ground level over two surface materials and at two different times of the day. A panel autoregressive (PAR) model was created to conduct a regression analysis capable of accounting for the spatial autocorrelation. With the PAR analyses, selected urban street characteristics showed varying effects over the different surface materials and at different times of the day. The overall influences were consistent with previous findings. PAR models were then applied in GIS to create thermal prediction maps for the study area to determine the hot and cool spots. Since GIS is the most commonly used technology among a wide range of researchers and professionals, this article provides a means to improve the synthesis, integration, and sharing of information to understand the relationship between the heat-vulnerable population and heat stress within the urban environment. This methodology will be useful in the effort to reduce the heat-related morbidity and mortality, which are expected to increase with projected global warming.

[1]  J. Monteith,et al.  Boundary Layer Climates. , 1979 .

[2]  K. Ebi,et al.  An empirical mechanistic framework for heat-related illness , 2001 .

[3]  E. Jáuregui.  Influence of a large urban park on temperature and convective precipitation in a tropical city , 1990 .

[4]  Marta J.N. Oliveira Panão,et al.  Numerical analysis of the street canyon thermal conductance to improve urban design and climate , 2009 .

[5]  K. Trenberth,et al.  Modern Global Climate Change , 2003, Science.

[6]  Leo Newland,et al.  Mapping micro-urban heat islands using LANDSAT TM and a GIS , 1995 .

[7]  Arthur M. Winer,et al.  Low-emitting urban forests: A taxonomic methodology for assigning isoprene and monoterpene emission rates , 1996 .

[8]  A. McMichael,et al.  The urban environment and health in a world of increasing globalization: issues for developing countries. , 2000, Bulletin of the World Health Organization.

[9]  S. Wachter,et al.  The Determinants of Neighborhood Transformations in Philadelphia Identification and Analysis: The New Kensington Pilot Study , 2005 .

[10]  L. Kalkstein,et al.  Progress in heat watch-warning system technology , 2004 .

[11]  R. Hites,et al.  Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Accumulation in Urban, Suburban, and Rural Vegetation , 1997 .

[12]  H. Akbari,et al.  Cool surfaces and shade trees to reduce energy use and improve air quality in urban areas , 2001 .

[13]  L. Kalkstein,et al.  Saving lives during extreme weather in summer , 2000, BMJ : British Medical Journal.

[14]  R. Britter,et al.  FLOW AND DISPERSION IN URBAN AREAS , 2003 .

[15]  Timothy R. Oke,et al.  Heat Storage in Urban Areas: Local-Scale Observations and Evaluation of a Simple Model , 1999 .

[16]  K. Guntupalli,et al.  Heat-related illnesses. , 1999, Critical care clinics.

[17]  The potential impacts of climate variability and change on temperature-related morbidity and mortality in the United States. , 2001 .

[18]  H. Landsberg.  Urban Climate , 2011, Urban Ecology for Citizens and Planners.

[19]  Frederik P. Agterberg,et al.  Interactive spatial data analysis , 1996 .

[20]  Heat--related illnesses and deaths-United States, 1994-1995. , 1995, MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report.

[21]  James P. LeSage.  Regression Analysis of Spatial Data , 1997 .

[22]  A. Arnfield.  Two decades of urban climate research: a review of turbulence, exchanges of energy and water, and the urban heat island , 2003 .

[23]  T. Oke.  Review of urban climatology 1968-1973 , 1974 .

[24]  A. Woodward,et al.  Climate and mortality in Australia: retrospective study, 1979-1990 and predicted impacts in five major cities in 2030. , 1999 .

[25]  T. Oke,et al.  The thermal regime of urban parks in two cities with different summer climates , 1998 .

[26]  János Unger,et al.  Intra-urban relationship between surface geometry and urban heat island: review and new approach , 2004 .

[27]  A. Zeghnoun,et al.  August 2003 heat wave in France: risk factors for death of elderly people living at home. , 2006, European journal of public health.

[28]  J. Rose,et al.  The potential health impacts of climate variability and change for the United States: executive summary of the report of the health sector of the U.S. National Assessment. , 2000, Environmental health perspectives.

[29]  E. Kalnay,et al.  Impact of urbanization and land-use change on climate , 2003, Nature.

[30]  R. Kovats,et al.  Heatwaves and public health in Europe. , 2006, European journal of public health.

[31]  J. F. Clarke,et al.  Comparison of the comfort conditions in different urban and suburban microenvironments , 1971, International journal of biometeorology.

[32]  R. Steadman.  The Assessment of Sultriness. Part I: A Temperature-Humidity Index Based on Human Physiology and Clothing Science , 1979 .

[33]  P. Lagadec,et al.  Understanding the French 2003 Heat Wave Experience: Beyond the Heat, a Multi-Layered Challenge , 2004 .

[34]  O. Edenhofer,et al.  Mitigation from a cross-sectoral perspective , 2007 .

[35]  T. Oke.  City size and the urban heat island , 1973 .

[36]  Timothy R. Oke,et al.  An objective urban heat storage model and its comparison with other schemes , 1991 .

[37]  H. Taha.  Urban climates and heat islands: albedo, evapotranspiration, and anthropogenic heat , 1997 .

[38]  F. E. Kuo,et al.  Social Aspects of Urban Forestry: the Role of Arboriculture in a Healthy Social Ecology , 2003 .

[39]  D. Easterling,et al.  Observed variability and trends in extreme climate events: A brief review , 2000 .

[40]  C. S. B. Grimmond,et al.  Surface description for urban climate studies: A gis based methodology , 1994 .

[41]  Stanley Q. Kidder,et al.  Urban Heat Island Modeling in Conjunction with Satellite-Derived Surface/Soil Parameters , 1999 .

[42]  C. S. B. Grimmond,et al.  Rapid methods to estimate sky‐view factors applied to urban areas , 2001 .

[43]  T. Rothenhaus,et al.  Heat-related illness. , 2004, Emergency medicine clinics of North America.

[44]  Sylvia E. Rosas,et al.  MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY , 2010 .

[45]  Luke Howard,et al.  The Climate of London: Deduced from Meteorological Observations , 2012 .

[46]  Mustafa Khogali,et al.  Evaluation and treatment of heat-related illnesses. , 2003, American family physician.

[47]  Å. Sundborg.  Local Climatological Studies of the Temperature Conditions in an Urban Area , 1950 .

[48]  C. Small.  Comparative analysis of urban reflectance and surface temperature , 2006 .

[49]  L. Kalkstein,et al.  A new approach to evaluate the impact of climate on human mortality. , 1991, Environmental health perspectives.

[50]  R. Preston-Whyte.  A Spatial Model of an Urban Heat Island , 1970 .

[51]  A. Rosenfeld,et al.  COOL COMMUNITIES: STRATEGIES FOR HEAT ISLAND MITIGATION AND SMOG REDUCTION , 1998 .

[52]  J. Houghton,et al.  Climate change 2001 : the scientific basis , 2001 .

[53]  Michael O. Rodgers,et al.  Urban Form and Thermal Efficiency: How the Design of Cities Influences the Urban Heat Island Effect , 2001 .

[54]  T. Oke.  Review of urban climatology 1973-1976 , 1974 .

[55]  Jean-Luc Salagnac,et al.  Lessons from the 2003 heat wave: a French perspective , 2007 .

[56]  M. Mcgeehin,et al.  Municipal heat wave response plans. , 2004, American journal of public health.

[57]  S B Thacker,et al.  Morbidity and mortality associated with the July 1980 heat wave in St Louis and Kansas City, Mo. , 1982, JAMA.

[58]  L. Kalkstein,et al.  The Philadelphia Hot Weather–Health Watch/Warning System: Development and Application, Summer 1995 , 1996 .

[59]  J. Palutikof,et al.  Climate change 2007 : impacts, adaptation and vulnerability , 2001 .

[60]  Akinaru Iino,et al.  Development of a method to predict the heat island potential using remote sensing and GIS data , 1996 .

[61]  W. Stefanov,et al.  Neighborhood microclimates and vulnerability to heat stress. , 2006, Social science & medicine.

[62]  C. Tomlin.  Geographic information systems and cartographic modeling , 1990 .

[63]  S. Carpenter,et al.  Global Consequences of Land Use , 2005, Science.

[64]  Olga V. Wilhelmi,et al.  Designing a Geospatial Information Infrastructure for Mitigation of Heat Wave Hazards in Urban Areas , 2004 .

[65]  T. J. Chandler.  Urban climatology and its relevance to urban design , 1976 .

[66]  Hiromi Yamazawa,et al.  Aerodynamic roughness over an inhomogeneous ground surface , 1986 .

[67]  J. A. Voogta,et al.  Thermal remote sensing of urban climates , 2003 .

[68]  Timothy R. Oke,et al.  Parameterization of heat storage in urban areas , 1981 .

[69]  L. Kalkstein.  Lessons from a very hot summer , 1995, The Lancet.

[70]  Lee Chapman,et al.  A method to assess the variation of urban canyon geometry from sky view factor transects , 2001 .

[71]  G. Meehl,et al.  More Intense, More Frequent, and Longer Lasting Heat Waves in the 21st Century , 2004, Science.

[72]  C. Rosenzweig,et al.  Attributing physical and biological impacts to anthropogenic climate change , 2008, Nature.

[73]  D. Quattrochi,et al.  A multi-scale approach to urban thermal analysis , 2006 .

[74]  David J. Sailor,et al.  Modeling the impacts of anthropogenic heating on the urban climate of Philadelphia: a comparison of implementations in two PBL schemes , 2005 .

[75]  H. Landsberg.  Man-Made Climatic Changes , 1975 .

[76]  David J. Sailor,et al.  A top-down methodology for developing diurnal and seasonal anthropogenic heating profiles for urban areas , 2004 .

[77]  R. Goble,et al.  Roughness effects on urban turbulence parameters , 1986 .

[78]  R. F. Goldman,et al.  Predicting rectal temperature response to work, environment, and clothing. , 1972, Journal of applied physiology.

[79]  E. Gregory McPherson,et al.  Assessing the Benefits and Costs of the Urban Forest , 1992, Arboriculture & Urban Forestry.

[80]  Barry Turner,et al.  United Nations (UN) , 2009 .

[81]  W. Meyer.  URBAN HEAT ISLAND AND URBAN HEALTH: EARLY AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES* , 1991 .

[82]  P. Udani,et al.  Morbidity and mortality. , 1962, The Indian journal of child health.

[83]  David J. Sailor,et al.  Mitigation of urban heat islands: materials, utility programs, updates , 1995 .

[84]  Daniel P. Johnson,et al.  The socio-spatial dynamics of extreme urban heat events: The case of heat-related deaths in Philadelphia , 2009 .