RHHD employee’s research on urban heat islands published in academic journal

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A Richmond and Henrico Health District (RHHD) employee who served as the lead author on a paper about heat islands in Richmond has had his work published in an academic journal.

According to RHHD, the paper, called “A Heat Emergency: Urban Heat Exposure and Access to Refuge in Richmond, VA” was published in the transdisciplinary open-access journal “GeoHealth.” RHHD’s Peter Braun, a built environment policy analyst for RHHD, was the lead author of the paper.

The paper is about how man-made climate change has increased average temperatures across the globe, but in cities like Richmond, those temperature increases have been more severe in low-income areas due to infrastructure and investment. Those discrepancies in turn result in significantly higher numbers of heat-related injuries and illnesses in low-income communities.

The research group, which included staff from both Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Richmond, found that many of the heat-related illnesses that occurred during the study period took place within a short walk of a cooling center and in close proximity to unsheltered bus stops.

“Spending just a few hours at a cooling center can help prevent heat-related illnesses, but a lot of Richmonders might not know these cooling centers exist or they might not have a safe way to get there,” said Braun. “In some neighborhoods, if you have to walk down a street without sidewalks or shade from street trees or if you have to wait at a bus stop without a shelter, you’re going to be exposed to extreme heat.”

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