Spatial analysis of Air Conditioning Ownership in Florida, United States

Keywords: indoor environment, housing environment, heat exposure, heat-related illnesses, cooling system
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Monday
Session Start / End Time: 2/28/2022 05:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/28/2022 06:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 77

Abstract

Air conditioning (AC) access and usage is the most effective intervention to prevent extreme heat-health outcomes such as heat exhaustion and heatstroke. However, limited geographic coverage and updated information of AC availability limit extreme heat risk mapping and prevention efforts. Leveraging property databases, this study first identified Florida, U.S. census tracts with the highest/lowest AC saturation applying Morans’I and Local Indicators of Spatial Association. Clusters of significantly high values and low values (p < 0.05) of AC ownership were found across Florida. High-high clusters of AC ownership were found in the northern and eastern coastal Florida counties, with big cities such as 39% in Duval, 20% in Sarasota, and 13% in Broward County. Counties with clusters of no AC were located in the interior of Florida. We examined AC prevalence clusters in Duval county which has a metro city, Jacksonville. Low-value clusters of households with any AC and high-value clusters of households without AC were found in the urban core which has the greatest portion of poverty and poor housing conditions. Moreover, this study investigated the relationship between AC ownership and sociodemographic and land use characteristics with the Spatial Durbin Model. We found a significant association between these variables. Among the variables, % Hispanic and Latino, and % Black/African American, and % of historic Black/African Americans showed a significant positive relationship with the percentage of households without an AC. Our results can be used for identifying neighborhoods that are in great need of AC and targeting heat prevention measures.