Understanding Urban Heat Vulnerability Assessment Methods: A PRISMA Review

Fei Li, Tan Yigitcanlar, Madhav Nepal, Kien Nguyen Thanh and Fatih Dur
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Fei Li: City 4.0 Lab, School of Architecture and Built Environment, Faculty of Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
Tan Yigitcanlar: City 4.0 Lab, School of Architecture and Built Environment, Faculty of Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
Madhav Nepal: City 4.0 Lab, School of Architecture and Built Environment, Faculty of Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
Kien Nguyen Thanh: School of Electrical Engineering and Robotics, Faculty of Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
Fatih Dur: City 4.0 Lab, School of Architecture and Built Environment, Faculty of Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 19, 1-34

Abstract: Increasingly people, especially those residing in urban areas with the urban heat island effect, are getting exposed to extreme heat due to ongoing global warming. A number of methods have been developed, so far, to assess urban heat vulnerability in different locations across the world concentrating on diverse aspects of these methods. While there is growing literature, thorough review studies that compare, contrast, and help understand the prospects and constraints of urban heat vulnerability assessment methods are scarce. This paper aims to bridge this gap in the literature. A systematic literature review with the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) approach is utilized as the methodological approach. PRISMA is an evidence-based minimum set of items for reporting in systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The results are analyzed in three aspects—i.e., indicators and data, modelling approaches, and validation approaches. The main findings disclose that: (a) Three types of indicators are commonly used—i.e., demographic properties and socioeconomic status, health conditions and medical resources, and natural and built environmental factors; (b) Heat vulnerability indexing models, equal weighting method, and principal component analysis are commonly used in modelling and weighting approaches; (c) Statistical regressions and correlation coefficients between heat vulnerability results and adverse health outcomes are commonly used in validation approaches, but the performance varies across studies. This study informs urban policy and generates directions for prospective research and more accurate vulnerability assessment method development.

Keywords: climate change; global warming; heat vulnerability; urban heat; urban heat island; vulnerability assessment; extreme heat; vulnerable communities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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