The Southeast Florida Surface Urban Heat Island and Hispanic Ethnic Exposure Inequalities

Abstract

abstract: Urban heat islands (UHI) present serious health risks as urban growth continues and thermal conditions warm. However, UHI studies on urban agglomerations are comparatively fewer while presenting notable challenges not encountered when examining individual cities. This analysis exploring the Southeast Florida urban agglomeration surface UHI (SUHI) quantified SUHI intensity (SUHII) using five measurement approaches. Multiple regression illuminated the influence of demographic and socioeconomic variables on respective SUHII indicators. Since prior urban heat analyses considered His-panics broadly and Southeast Florida features a diverse Hispanic population exceeding two million, a Hispanic ethnicity analysis was performed granularly examining exposure differences. Results demonstrated positive statistical correlation yet noteworthy numerical disparities between SUHII indicators, while demographic and socioeconomic variables explained 40-73 percent of observed variation. Collectively, Hispanics were disproportionately exposed to higher intensity with Cubans, Hondurans, Nicaraguans, and Other Central Americans exceedingly at risk. Results underscore a need to advance beyond traditional SUHII measurement approaches when analyzing urban agglomerations and emphasize the importance of distinguishing ethnicities when conducting urban-environmental studies in places with diverse Hispanic populations.