Thermal Neighborhoods, Socioeconomic Characteristics, and Urban Quality of Life: Examining Humanity’s Principal Habitat

Urban heat can negatively impact urban quality of life – a measure of resident well-being. However, the burden of urban heat is often unevenly distributed. This chapter examines urban temperature in Terre Haute, Indiana using detailed land cover data and socioeconomic data. First, four urban thermal neighborhoods were generated using land cover percentages and k-means clustering. Then, urban temperature was examined in the context of these four neighborhoods, and it was found that urban temperature was significantly different in the four neighborhoods. Finally, socioeconomic variables were examined. It was determined that income was significantly higher in neighborhoods with low temperatures and percentage minority population values were significantly higher in the neighborhoods with the higher temperature values. Future research could further investigate the relationship between urban heat and socioeconomic characteristics.