Environmental injustice among Hispanics in Santa Clara, California: a human–environment heat vulnerability assessment

Abstract

In the United States, there is a growing interest in understanding heat stress in lower-income and racially isolated neighborhoods. This study spatially identifies heat-vulnerable neighborhoods, evaluates the relationship between race/ethnicity and temperature exposure, and emphasizes differences among Hispanics by origin to capture environmental injustices in Santa Clara County (SCC), CA. The current methodology uses Landsat 8 via Google Earth Engine to measure the Land Surface Temperature (LST) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to assess the physical environment. The human environment is evaluated using the Modified Darden-Kamel Composite Socioeconomic Index to determine the spatial variability of socioeconomic status (SES) and the Index of Dissimilarity to determine the level of segregation between Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites and among Hispanics/Latinos. The combination of these assessments comprises a comprehensive human–environment approach for health exposure evaluation by which to define environmental injustice. Results reveal socioeconomic inequalities and an uneven residential distribution between Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites. Low NDVI and high LST values were found in Mexican neighborhoods, implying possible environmental racism. Almost half the Mexican population lives in highly segregated neighborhoods with low and very low SES, mainly located in East San Jose, where, historically, they have been ghettoized. Mexicans, in general, could be at a higher risk of heat stress and heat mortality during heat waves. Future work should examine additional variables (e.g., housing characteristics, crime, social cohesion, and collective behaviors) to comprehensively evaluate the at-risk Mexican population.