Survey To Help Protect Bed-Stuy During Dangerous Heat Waves

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — A new survey created by researchers at New York City College of Technology will help find ways to keep Bed-Stuy residents healthy when dangerous heat waves descend on the neighborhood.

Researchers with City Tech and a team from the Magnolia Tree Earth Center — who study heat waves and what's known as the "urban heat island effect" — have created a survey specifically for Bedford-Stuyvesant, one of the most heat-vulnerable neighborhoods across the five boroughs.

"Heat waves remain the most deadly natural disaster in the world," the researchers write. "Therefore, it is imperative that state-of-the-art research methodologies and studies are deployed to inform adaptation, mitigation, and resiliency planning for cities and thereby help in ameliorating heat-related health impacts, especially impacts on the vulnerable elderly and children populations."

The survey will ask residents about their experience with heat waves, whether they have access to heat-related resources, how the coronavirus pandemic might have compounded heat problems and their perceptions about climate change and the urban heat island effect, or the way heat is trapped in urban areas.

Bed-Stuy typically has higher temperatures than the rest of New York City, according to the researchers, who have been collecting data on the neighborhood for years. It also has a heat vulnerability index of 5, the highest rating, according to the Department of Health.

That vulnerability is increased by insufficient green spaces and vegetation, greater pollution load, more man-made surfaces and taller buildings, the team said.

Answers to the survey questions will help the researchers determine how best to keep Bed-Stuy cool, and healthy, including finding "cool corridors" where people can go outside safely during a heat wave.

"Mitigation and adaptation strategies have been identified to reduce these heat-related health risks, such as the use of air conditioning, cooling centers, heat and air quality warning systems, and access to green spaces and vegetation," they write.

"Because of this, it is important to identify the best solutions to these heat-related problems and to tailor these solutions for the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood."

Find the survey, which takes about 10 minutes to complete, here.