Quantifying and Mapping Urban Heat to Support Urban Planning Initiatives in Sacramento, California

Keywords: InVEST urban cooling model, Landsat 8 TIRS, ArcGIS Pro, ECOSTRESS, ecosystem services, heat mitigation
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Tuesday
Session Start / End Time: 3/1/2022 02:00 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 3/1/2022 03:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 8

Abstract

The combined effects of increasing urbanization and climate change have exacerbated the urban heat island (UHI) effect and heat-related risks for city dwellers. Vulnerability to heat-related illnesses is further compounded by risk factors such as demographics, socioeconomic status, and pre-existing health conditions. This team’s project collaborated with the City of Sacramento and an urban planning firm, Dyett and Bhatia, on three main goals: assessing urban heat at the neighborhood scale, assessing heat risk to the population, and identifying priority areas for cooling interventions. The project utilized NASA Earth observation products to identify hotspots within the community areas of Sacramento and create maps of urban heat, heat risk, and a heat-mitigation index for the study period of 2016-2020. Specifically, this project used surface reflectance products from the Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager and Thermal Infrared Sensor (OLI/TIRS) and ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) thermal infrared sensor. Additionally, this project used the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) Urban cooling model to assess the impact of increased tree canopy scenarios. This study identified urban hotspots in central Sacramento and along major transportation corridors such as Stockton Boulevard, while the highest risk areas are in the community areas of Fruitridge/Broadway and North Sacramento. This project identified these high-opportunity areas for heat mitigation to inform the City of Sacramento's General Plan. This work informed Sacramento city planners to reduce citizen risk by addressing urban heat islands.