Incorporating Heat Vulnerability into Local Authority Decision Making: An Open Access Approach

Emma Ferranti (), Samuel Cook, Sarah Victoria Greenham (), Nick Grayson, Julie Futcher and Kat Salter
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Emma Ferranti: School of Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Samuel Cook: School of Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Sarah Victoria Greenham: School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Nick Grayson: Birmingham City Council, Birmingham B1 1BB, UK
Julie Futcher: School of Engineering and the Built Environment, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK
Kat Salter: School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 18, 1-23

Abstract: High temperatures and heatwaves are becoming more frequent, but heat vulnerability is rarely considered within local authority city design and statutory land-use planning processes. Here, we describe an approach to assess heat vulnerability in Birmingham, the second largest city in the UK. The approach uses open access data and GIS techniques that are available for built environment practitioners. Heat vulnerability is assessed by combining four datasets: surface temperatures, Local Climate Zones, green space, and Indices of Multiple Deprivation. The assessment shows that central and eastern areas of Birmingham that have the most compact urban form, least green space, and highest levels of deprivation are most vulnerable to heat. We evaluated the approach against previous climate research, examined the approach and datasets at the local scale, and described how heat vulnerability can be (and is being) incorporated into decision making. This project combines three key innovations: (1) the decision-centric process that focuses the method on the decision that needs to be made, minimizing inertia related to scientific or modeling uncertainty and reducing resource-intensity; (2) the co-creation process with Birmingham City Council, who have statutory powers for planning within the city, thereby ensuring that heat vulnerability is embedded within decisions on the suitability, design, and location of sites for future development; and (3) the open access and technically appropriate methodology which can be applied to any urban area in the UK, using the open access datasets described here, or globally, using locally applicable data sources.

Keywords: climate adaptation; climate resilience; heat-risk management, Nature Based Solutions, Action Research (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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