Describing the spatial patterns of heat vulnerability from urban design perspectives

A large number of East Asian cities, like cities in other parts of the world, are being affected by extreme heatwaves. Yet, little is known about the general urban design characteristics of sites with significant heat vulnerability within the localized context. In this study, empirical data sets were constructed describing the biomedical, social, environmental, and place-based parameters associated with the location of heat-related emergency calls in Suwon, South Korea, between 2010 and 2014. The results showed that the distribution of heat vulnerability appeared to be highly clustered within a few places, although the area did not have a high proportion of socioeconomically vulnerable populations. Here, three urban design characteristics were described in association with the location of emergency calls: (1) high-rise building complexes built on a superblock gridiron layout with large open spaces in between, (2) low-rise, high-density residential districts with a fine-scaled street layout, and (3) hilly terrain parkland sites adjacent to a densely urbanized district. These general characteristics of the sites and their potential links to heat vulnerability were explained in terms easily understandable by urban design and planning professionals so that climatic knowledge can be more effectively integrated with urban form-making practices.