Mitigating the Effects of Excessive Heat in Hillsborough County's Vulnerable Neighborhoods

Hillsborough County, Florida faces the climate stressor of excessive heat each year. Exposure to excessive heat can lead to heat-related illness or death, especially in vulnerable populations. This study uses a mixed methods approach to understand the factors that contribute to social vulnerability levels of different census tracts in Hillsborough County and to identify strategies to mitigate the harmful effects of excessive heat in vulnerable communities. An analysis of different vulnerability and resilience indices was conducted to determine the locations in Hillsborough County with high concentrations of socially vulnerable populations. Additionally, several interviews with stakeholders in emergency management, nonprofits, and religious organizations were completed to understand the status of Hillsborough County’s resilience-building strategies and projects. Furthermore, reports from the City of Tampa—Resilient Tampa (May 2021) and Tampa's Heat Resilience Playbook (July 2024)—were reviewed, and recommendations from these reports were compared with stakeholder interview responses. The geographic distribution of several socially vulnerable populations was mapped, and areas of need were identified. Some of these areas lie outside of Tampa’s municipal boundary, and recommendations were made for strategies that can be implemented in these vulnerable communities by the county-level government to build resilience to excessive heat.

The Weather Climate and Society REU program invited 10 students from across the US to conduct research projects related to disaster-vulnerable communities in Florida and other extreme weather-affected areas. These projects were interdisciplinary, integrating social science and physical science aspects of severe weather, climate, and related disasters through field work, interviews, and/or spatial analysis of secondary data in GIS. The PI of this REU is Dr. Jennifer Collins.