Introduction

Methodology

Research & Policy Implications

Not Such a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood:

Who is Not Served within a 16 Minute Walkshed to a Warming or Cooling Center (City-Designated and Libraries)

Total Population Population Not

Served

Population Not

Served (%)

Elderly Population

Not Served

Elderly Population

Not Served (%)

Number of Block

Groups meeting 1

EJ Criterion

Number of Block

Groups meeting 2

EJ Criterion

Number of Block

Groups meeting

All 3 EJ Criteria

Total Number of

Block Groups

meeting at least 1

EJ Criteria

Boston 669,158 402,229 60.11% 49,364 7.38% 140 83 26 249

Cambridge 110,893 90,750 81.84% 10,533 9.50% 45 6 0 51

Chelsea 39,272 5,531 14.08% 368 0.94% 1 2 1 4

Everett 45,212 31,040 68.65% 3,170 7.01% 10 5 1 16

Malden 61,212 40,599 66.33% 4,411 7.21% 19 6 3 28

Medford 57,700 45,588 79.01% 7,046 12.21% 16 1 0 17

Revere 53,864 35,491 65.89% 4,931 9.15% 17 6 0 23

Somerville 79,983 45,439 56.81% 4,303 5.38% 15 1 0 16

*All numbers are based off the block groups with data from Social Explorer Tables: ACS 2017 (5-Year Estimates)(SE), ACS 2017 (5-Year Estimates), Social Explorer; U.S. Census Bureau.

Density of Elderly Population by mi2

A Network Analysis of EJ & Elderly Population’s Accessibility to

Warming and Cooling Centers in Cities within the Greater Boston Area

Elderly Population (%) in Block Groups outside of 16-Minute Walkshed

Percent of Elderly Population

Elderly Population (Density) in Block Groups outside of 16-Minute

Walkshed

Walking and Driving Sheds around Centers

Environmental Justice Block Groups without Walking Access to Centers

As the effects of climate change intensify, the Greater Boston Area will experience more frequent

intense heat waves and cold freezes.1 Specific populations vulnerable to extreme temperature

events are those with potential for severe, negative health outcomes which include elderly, people

with disabilities or chronic diseases, people using and abusing substances, and people

experiencing homelessness.2 Additionally, Massachusetts has designated Environmental Justice

(EJ) communities as those who are more vulnerable to environmental scenarios. The criteria to be

an EJ community are to be a block group with:3

Block group whose annual median household income is equal to or less than 65 percent of the statewide

median ($74,167 in 20174); or

25% or more of the residents identify as a race other than white; or

25% or more of households have no one over the age of 14 who speaks English only or very well - English

Isolation

With this in mind, cities need to be prepared to provide weather-safe places for their residents.

With limitations on data about the different vulnerable populations, this project explores:

Where are the EJ communities and elderly (60+) that cannot

access warming and cooling centers in Boston, Cambridge,

Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Revere, and Somerville?

Collect and Prepare Data

Erase Walkshed areas from

block group areas and

analyze demographics.

Build Network using

Streets with Sidewalks

Use Network Analyst to

create service areas using

reduced walking speed of

143ft/min and 16 minute

walkshed.6

Use Network Analyst to

create driving service area

using half the speed limit to

account for traffic and

weather conditions.7

"Color" by Beegee49 is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0

Data Sources

1Climate Ready Boston. “City of Boston: Climate Ready Boston - Climate Vulnerability Assessment.” City of Boston: Department of Environment, 2017. https://www.boston.gov/sites/default/files/imce-uploads/2017-01/crb_-_focus_area_va.pdf.

2Polich, Erin. “Warming and Cooling Centers in Boston Request,” February 21, 2019.

3Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, and Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. “Environmental Justice Communities in Massachusetts.” Mass.gov, 2018. https://www.mass.gov/info-details/environmental-justice-communities-in-massachusetts.

4Reiss, Jaclyn, Matt Rocheleau Globe Staff, December 11, 2018. “Full List of Massachusetts Median Household Incomes by Town.” BostonGlobe.com. Accessed May 3, 2019. https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/12/11/full-list-massachusetts-median-household-incomes-town/eZpgJkpB1uF2FVmpM4O8XO/story.html.

5Fraser, Andrew M, Mikhail V Chester, David Eisenman, David M Hondula, Stephanie S Pincetl, Paul English, and Emily Bondank. “Household Accessibility to Heat Refuges: Residential Air Conditioning, Public Cooled Space, and Walkability.” Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science 44, no. 6 (November 2017):

1036–55. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265813516657342.

6 Ahn, Yoonjung, and Yeora Chae. “Analyzing Spatial Equality of Cooling Service Shelters, Central District of Seoul Metropolitan City, South Korea.” Spatial Information Research 26, no. 6 (December 1, 2018): 619–27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41324-018-0206-y.

7 Reed, Trevor, and Joshua Kidd. “Global Traffic Scorecard.” INRIX Research, February 2019. www.inrix.com/scorecard/.

Cyatharine Alias

UEP 294-22: Advanced GIS, Spring 2019

Projection: Lambert Conformal Conic Coordinate System: NAD 1983 State Plane Massachusetts Mainland FIPS 2001

"Fire in the Sky!" by cogdogblog is licensed under CC BY 2.0

If vulnerable populations have access to vehicles, almost all

block groups are serviced within a 10 min drive shed.

However, if populations are dependent on walking then 577 block groups

cannot access the centers or libraries at an elderly person’s walking speed.

Of these 577, 70% are block groups with EJ communities. Overall, an

estimated 10% of elderly cannot access these locations.

Limitations: It is important to note that the demographic and populations

numbers are estimates and only representative of the block groups surveyed

in the survey. Additionally, in building the network and inserting the centers,

locations may not have snapped correctly, thus reducing the size of service

area generated. Further, service areas serve some block groups partially,

however with GIS tools, the population numbers are not reduced

proportionately to the areas of the block group that are not serviced.

Results Conduct walkshed analysis for other vulnerable populations, especially

those experiencing homelessness.

Conduct a public-transit shed analysis to identify service areas for

additional transit modality.

Designate additional public locations outside of walkshed to be warming

and cooling centers in collaboration with community members.

Identify ways to use shuttles or vehicle pick-up on extreme hot or cold

days—either by the city or through a neighborhood volunteer group.

Ensure that communications about centers are culturally-appropriate so

that EJ communities can utilize city resources during extreme

temperature.

Demographic data was gathered from Social Explorer

Tables: American Community Survey 2017 (5-Year

Estimates) at the block group level.

Center were identified by emailing or calling city halls

and geolocating addresses. MassGIS was used to

locate libraries in each municipality as an additional

location residents could go.5

Street data for network analyst came from MassDOT.