Assessing the impact of the built environment on human mortality during extreme heat events
with LANDSAT data
David M. Hondula, Robert E. Davis (advisor), University of Virginia
Extreme heat events pose a significant public health burden and are the leading weather-related
cause of mortality in the United States. Episodes of extreme heat are particularly problematic in
urban areas, where built environment features contribute to elevated air and surface temperatures
and expose residents to greater thermal stress. We sought to determine the extent to which
environmental factors contribute to spatial variability in heat-related risk. The dependent variable
for the study was postal-code level mortality rates on extreme heat days, derived from
multidecadal mortality records from seven climatically diverse U.S. cities. Independent variables
included built environment characteristics from the National Land Cover Database and a suite of
demographic indicators. We used multivariate regression to identify variables most associated
with regions of elevated risk. In all cities we found significant spatial variability in heat-related
mortality. High risk zones were generally associated with a greater extent of high intensity
development/reduced natural landscapes, lower income levels, and lower educational attainment.
As metrics related to the extent of development were included in a number of the city-specific
regression models, we cannot reject the hypothesis that built environment features contribute to
adverse health outcomes through urban heat island effects.