Low-income residents' strategies to cope with urban heat
Tania Berger, Faiz Ahmed Chundeli, Rama Umesh Pandey, Minakshi Jain, Ayon Tarafdar, Adinarayanane Ramamurthy
Abstract
Rising temperatures due to climate change and urban heat island effects lead to heat stress and need remedial actions at all city planning scales. The design of built spaces strongly influences residents' exposure to heat risks. However, practices that increase communities' resilience to heat are not yet influencing decision-making in urban planning. In this study, qualitative interviews were conducted in low-income households in three different cities in India and Austria to understand residents' strategies for coping with excess summer heat in their homes. Although significant differences are discernible between India and Austria, low-income households in both continents lack agency over their housing situation and have little means to adapt it to heat. This lack strongly influences how they can handle the heat. Lack of resources forces them to accept unfavourable thermal conditions and keeps them from affording any but the most basic remedies. While buildings constitute the single most important and effective means of protection against heat stress for most interviewees in India, design restrictions and the appliance of cheap building materials limit this protection's effectiveness, especially during evening and night times.