Urban design &amp; urban heat islands: Fostering social inequality in the Hague

Cities are becoming increasingly hot places to live. This reality is promoted by climate change as well as by Urban Heat Island effects, which in turn promote higher levels of heat stress in urban areas. Yet how these heat stress levels are felt across the city is not uniform due to the unequal distribution of public space, vegetation, and coping mechanisms through the city fabric, consequently promoting social vulnerability. Based on the literature and examples from North American cities, the purpose of this thesis is to establish if an unequal distribution of heat stress and consequent social vulnerability occurs in the city of The Hague. To do so, a linear regression was used to establish a relation between income and temperature levels, followed by a mixed methodology approach based on the framework of Harlan et al. (2006) where social conditions, thermal environment and coping mechanisms are analysed. The findings of this research show that in the neighbourhoods of The Hague...Show moreCities are becoming increasingly hot places to live. This reality is promoted by climate change as well as by Urban Heat Island effects, which in turn promote higher levels of heat stress in urban areas. Yet how these heat stress levels are felt across the city is not uniform due to the unequal distribution of public space, vegetation, and coping mechanisms through the city fabric, consequently promoting social vulnerability. Based on the literature and examples from North American cities, the purpose of this thesis is to establish if an unequal distribution of heat stress and consequent social vulnerability occurs in the city of The Hague. To do so, a linear regression was used to establish a relation between income and temperature levels, followed by a mixed methodology approach based on the framework of Harlan et al. (2006) where social conditions, thermal environment and coping mechanisms are analysed. The findings of this research show that in the neighbourhoods of The Hague there is a correlation between income levels and temperatures. Furthermore, low temperatures neighbourhoods follow a trend of high income, high vegetation levels, high coping mechanisms in the public space, and low levels of impervious surface. On the other hand, high-temperature neighbourhoods show lower income levels, low vegetation levels, low coping mechanisms and high levels of impervious surfaces. This scenario shines a light on the social inequality of public spaces through The Hague and draws parallels to the Environmental Justice issues of vulnerability found in the North American Cities. These findings are important for policymaking and the promotion of more integrated approaches between urban planning, urban design, climate mitigation strategies, health officials and the Municipality when proposing interventions at the local level.Show less

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Urban design & urban heat islands: Fostering social inequality in the Hague