As the sizzling summer approaches, Americans across the nation are forced to prepare for extreme heat waves and record-setting temperatures. However, new UCLA-led research shows that although cities are aware of these dangerous trends, they are underprepared to handle this challenge.  

The new study analyzed municipal planning documents from 50 large cities across the country, and found that while more than 78% of these cities recognized the issue, most failed to adequately address it in their plans. The study also discussed what this means for low-income residents and communities of color, who are disproportionately affected by heat. As a result of climate change, heat has become one of the deadliest weather hazards in the nation, accounting for more deaths in a typical year than hurricanes, floods or tornadoes. 

“Just a couple of years ago, very few cities were talking about preparing for rising temperatures, so it’s an important step that heat is becoming a larger part of the conversation,” said V. Kelly Turner, lead author of the study and co-director of the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation. “But without concrete steps to protect residents, cities are lagging behind the problem.”   

Co-author Emma French —  who is a doctoral student in urban planning at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and also a Sustainable LA Grand Challenge Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Fellow — spoke further on this issue. “If cities are not painting a complete picture of heat — how chronic it is, and its disparate impacts on the ground — we’re not going to be able to fully protect residents, and we could end up exacerbating existing social and environmental injustices.” 

Read more about the implications of this study at UCLA Newsroom. 

Study Authors: 

V Kelly Turner, UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation 

Emma M French, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs 

John Dialesandro, UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation 

Hana Abdellati, UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation 

Ariane Middel, ASU Urban Climate Research Center 

David M Hondula, ASU Office of Heat Response and Mitigation 

George Ban Weiss, USC Civil and Environmental Engineering

Image Source: iStock.com/AndresGarciaM