Abandoned land drives dangerous heat in Houston, Texas A&M study finds

Summary

Dr. Dingding Ren with the drone and thermal camera used to map urban heat across Houston neighborhoods. Credit: John Peters/Texas A&M University College of Architecture. On a scorching Texas afternoon, some Houston neighborhoods heat up far faster than others. New research from Texas A&M University shows vacant and abandoned land is a big reason why. A new study led by Dr. Dingding Ren, a lecturer in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, finds that vacant lots with vegetation can help cool surrounding areas. Abandoned buildings and paved lots do the opposite, raising land surface temperatures by as much as 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Ren said many low-income residents run their air conditioning less to save money, leaving them even more exposed to the heat. “Residents living in these vulnerable areas are more likely to suffer heat stroke and other heat-related illnesses,” Ren said. “Because of more vacant land and abandoned structures, [these neighborhoods] retain more heat during the daytime and even experience higher overall temperatures at night, because the concrete absorbs heat and releases it slowly.” Drone data reveals hotspots Houston ranks among the top 10 hottest cities in the U.S., and Ren set out to understand why. Using more than 1,400 drone images and NASA satellite LandSat data, he mapped heat at a street-by-street level across seven sites, including residential neighborhoods, commercial strips and industrial zones. Each location had patterns of both above-average land surface temperatures and high social vulnerability, a measure for communities most at risk during disasters. A heat map of a commercial site reveals abandoned buildings and paved lots as major heat sources, while trees and vacant land create cooler pockets. In the map, red marks the hottest areas and purple the coolest. A map of a residential site reveals how the abundance of trees and open lots helps keep the neighborhood cool and comfortable, even with some abandoned...