Addressing Urban Heat in the Dwight Neighborhood of New Haven: A Prototype for Neighborhood-Level Planning

Heat has disproportionate economic and health effects on low-income communities of color in inner-city neighborhoods. Climate change is worsening this inequity. In response, faculty from the School of Public Health and the School of Architecture will develop and test a model methodology to analyze environmental heat exposure, its health and other impacts, and potential solutions in New Haven’s Dwight neighborhood. The researchers will test the hypothesis that there is meaningful heterogeneity in temperature exposure even within a small neighborhood. They will provide a model transferable to other neighborhoods and other cities. The primary data collected will be used as scientific input into a Dwight neighborhood planning process, contributing directly to the development and siting of specific strategies and project proposals to mitigate the impacts of urban heat.