Modeling the Effects of Urban Design on Emergency Medical Response Calls during Extreme Heat Events in Toronto, Canada. Academic Article

abstract

• Urban residents are at risk of health-related illness during extreme heat events but the dangers are not equal in all parts of a city. Previous studies have found a relationship between physical characteristics of neighborhoods and the number of emergency medical response (EMR) calls. We used a human energy budget model to test the effects of landscape modifications that are designed to cool the environment on the expected number of EMR calls in two neighborhoods in Toronto, Canada during extreme heat events. The cooling design strategies reduced the energy overload on people by approximately 20-30 W m-2, resulting in an estimated 40-50% reduction in heat-related ambulance calls. These findings advance current understanding of the relationship between the urban landscape and human health and suggest straightforward design strategies to positively influence urban heat-health.

authors

• Brown, Robert

published proceedings

• Int J Environ Res Public Health

altmetric score

• 3

author list (cited authors)

• Graham, D. A., Vanos, J. K., Kenny, N. A., & Brown, R. D.

citation count

• 6

complete list of authors

• Graham, Drew A||Vanos, Jennifer K||Kenny, Natasha A||Brown, Robert D

publication date

• July 2017

publisher

• MDPI  Publisher

published in

• International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health  Journal

keywords

• Cities
• Emergency Medical Dispatch
• Energy Budget Modeling
• Extreme Heat
• Humans
• Landscape Architecture
• Models, Theoretical
• Ontario
• Residence Characteristics
• Socioeconomic Factors
• Urban Design
• Urban Health

PubMed Central ID

• 28708081

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• 10.3390/ijerph14070778

start page

• 778

end page

• 778

volume

• 14

issue

• 7

URL

• http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14070778