Finer-scale urban health risk assessment based on the interaction perspective of thermal radiation, human, activity, and space

Abstract

Urban heat stress profoundly affects the health of residents. However, current research primarily focuses on quantifying the risk of urban heat based on LST, T_a, etc., overlooking the crucial and intimate influence of continuous intense solar radiation on human thermal comfort and health. Simultaneously, there is a lack of smaller units to support more precise planning. This study utilized the radiant heat stress intensity (RHSI) metric concentrating on the intensity and duration of thermal radiation, to develop a thermal-radiation induced health risk (TIHR) assessment system. Leveraging technologies such as the SOLWEIG model, Python, BERT, and GIS enables precise calculations of 12 spatial indices, including RHSI and Weibo heat. This facilitates a more accurate assessment of health risks at the smallest urban units (blocks) and directly guides planning. The application of this workflow in the case of Suoyuwan, Dalian, China, confirms its value, as it can be used to determine which blocks should be prioritized for specific aspects of risk prevention and control. The results show that some blocks exhibited differences in TIHR even within close proximity, with disaster-causing factors varying according to locations. This study proposes a novel assessment framework based on the interactive perspective of thermal radiation-human-activity-space.

Keywords

Health risk assessment / Thermal radiation / Finer-scale / Block / Planning / Human-centered

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2024 The Author(s). Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co. Ltd.