Green Infrastructure Approaches to Mitigate Climate Change Effects on Vulnerable Populations

摘要

A changing climate can cause numerous adverse health outcomes that are especially detrimental for vulnerable populations. A comprehensive mitigation effort is required to properly address these climate related health impacts. Health outcomes (morbidity and mortality) of an extreme heat event (EHE) was studied and spatially analyzed within the Proctor Creek Watershed of Atlanta, GA. These health outcomes of the historic EHE were compared to a research informed Extreme Heat Vulnerability Index (EHVI). Much research has gone into how to identify vulnerable populations; the most prevalent metrics of a vulnerable population include age, economic level, race, education level, and social isolation. The EHVI uses these metrics among others to identify where the vulnerable populations are located. EPA worked to spatially layer the EHVI, the health outcomes of the EHE, as well as flood prone areas (using a GIS tool known as the Wetness Index) to identify where the areas of most concern are within the watershed. Once the areas of concern were identified, in accordance with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) recommendation to make climate change adaptation as local as possible, EPA worked to identify locally tailored green infrastructure solutions for the areas in question. Furthermore, the findings of this study were used to inform an Environmental District Concept under works at the City of Atlanta as well as a watershed wide Health Impact Assessment for the Proctor Creek Watershed.