Description:

Abstract: Increases in the intensity and frequency of heatwaves is one of the most dire and health-relevant consequences of climate change. In urban areas, a common method to estimate extreme heat vulnerability is via a Heat Vulnerability Index (HVI). HVIs estimate the local vulnerability of human health and well-being to extreme heat from many potential vulnerability factors. These factors take the form of demographic susceptibilities, environmental exposures, or adaptive capacities. In past studies, the factors used in an HVI were often chosen and justified based on domain expertise, rather than analyses rooted in health outcome data. Furthermore, communities most affected by heat have historically been left out of the HVI creation process. Here, I present an HVI for Chicago, IL which was co-developed by community members, academics, and city government. This community-driven HVI approach complements the conventional research approach by adding community knowledge and lived experience that may have been overlooked by past academics. 

Bio: Dr. Daniel Horton is an Associate Professor in the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences at Northwestern University, where he leads the Climate Change Research Group and the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs Defusing Disasters Global Working Group. He is an environmental and Earth system scientist, whose research leverages physics-based numerical models to build a better understanding of Earth’s atmospheric processes and climate system and their intersection with people, places, and things. He has received funding to support his research from the National Science Foundation, NASA, Department of Energy, the Health Effects Institute, the Environmental Defense Fund, the Nature Conservancy, and Microsoft Research. In his research, teaching, advising, professional service, and public outreach he strives to elucidate and advance the science that underpins our knowledge of Earth’s climate system, make tangible the consequences of human-caused climate change, rigorously assess potential solutions, and inspire the courage required to meet the challenges at hand. A primary focus of his research examines the relationship between environmental factors such as extreme heat and poor air quality and their exposure, health, and environmental justice implications. Dr. Horton received a B.S in Physics from Tulane University, a B.S. in Atmospheric Sciences from Texas A&M University, a Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from the University of Michigan and performed postdoctoral research in Stanford’s Department of Earth System Science. In addition, Dr. Horton served one year in AmeriCorps as an environmental educator and trail boss, and five years in the U.S. Air Force as an operational weather officer.