Urban H: Housing, heat, and health

• Main Author: LEES, Loretta
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2024
• Subjects: urban heat island; housing; heat; health; triple-H; Urban-H Index; marginalized populations; urban resilience; policy development; environmental justice; Environmental Sciences; Sustainability
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/ami/270; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/ami/article/1264/viewcontent/8_AMI_Nov24_UrbanH.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Future policy needs to triangulate the ‘triple-H’ to help marginalised urban populations. 1. The urban heat island effect generates disproportionately high temperatures in urban settlements compared to non-urban ones, leading to increased heat-related illnesses and mental health issues, especially among vulnerable and marginalised populations living in poorly-planned or -resourced areas. The Urban-H research agenda by Boston University’s Initiative on Cities focuses on the interconnected effects of housing, heat, and health (triple-H) to develop a resilience index for cities. 3. The proposed global Urban-H Index could help cities worldwide address the triple-H crisis by guiding policymakers to craft equitable, as well as socially and environmentally just policies for their most vulnerable and marginalised populations.