Urban Heat Islands: A Growing Climate Crisis with Unequal Impact

Assignment Brief

For each talk that you attend, you will need to turn in a one-page (single-spaced) paper that includes

1. a summary of the talk,

2. a discussion of how that material links up to this course and/or to other geography courses, and

3. specifies one or more questions that you had about the talk.

1. Summary of the Talk

The lecture delivered by Dr. Amelia Ross focused on a critical and often overlooked aspect of urban climate change: Urban Heat Islands (UHIs). She explained how UHIs occur when natural land cover is replaced with concrete, asphalt, and other materials that absorb and retain heat. This causes urban areas to experience significantly higher temperatures than their surrounding rural regions — sometimes by as much as 7°C.

Dr. Ross presented detailed research that illustrated the real-world consequences of this phenomenon. Using GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and satellite thermal imagery, she showed how different neighborhoods within the same city can have drastically different heat levels. For example, tree-covered suburban areas were notably cooler than inner-city zones dominated by black rooftops and paved surfaces.

More importantly, the talk highlighted that UHIs disproportionately affect low-income and marginalized communities. These areas tend to lack tree cover, green spaces, and heat-reflective infrastructure. As a result, their residents suffer from higher rates of heat-related illnesses, higher electricity bills (due to increased reliance on air conditioning), and reduced quality of life. This makes UHIs not just an environmental issue, but a climate justice concern.

2. How This Links to Our Course

This lecture intersects directly with several core themes of our course, particularly:

a. Environmental Geography & Urban Planning

We’ve studied how geography influences human settlement patterns and resource distribution. The concept of UHIs adds another layer: how urban design itself creates microclimates that can either protect or endanger human health. The lecture offered real examples of how poor urban planning exacerbates environmental stress in vulnerable communities.

b. GIS and Spatial Analysis

Dr. Ross’s use of GIS data to map heat zones illustrates the growing importance of geospatial technology in environmental research. This directly relates to our unit on spatial data interpretation, where we learned how mapping can reveal hidden patterns in public health, resource access, and climate vulnerability.

c. Social Justice and Policy

The most compelling part of the talk was how it connected environmental change to systemic inequality. The idea that climate adaptation (such as planting trees or installing reflective roofing) is often implemented in wealthier neighborhoods raises key ethical questions. Who decides which areas get protected? What role should governments play in ensuring equitable climate resilience?

3. Critical Reflection & Takeaways

The lecture challenged us to see climate change not as a distant global phenomenon, but as something experienced differently depending on where — and how — people live. It also emphasized the need for inclusive urban policies that prioritize vulnerable populations in climate planning.

One open-ended question the talk leaves us with is:

How can cities design heat-resilient infrastructure that doesn’t just benefit the wealthy, but serves all communities equally?