Mapping Urban Heat Vulnerability: Integrating Remote Sensing, Socioeconomic Exposure and Neighbourhood Adaptive Capacity

Abstract

Rapid urbanization, climate change and inequities in access to adaptive resources are increasing heat risks in neighbourhoods, with the resulting urban heat vulnerability an increasing environmental and public-health concern. This study proposed an integrated UHV indicator, which is composed of remote-sensing indicators, socioeconomic exposure factors and neighbourhood adaptive-capacity measures, for 300 spatial units. Environmental conditions included Land Surface Temperature, NDVI, NDBI, impervious-surface coverage, and green-space availability, and socioeconomic sensitivity included population density, household income, age structure and housing crowding. Indicators reflecting accessibility to healthcare, household cooling access, community facilities, shade and green infrastructure were added as indicators of adaptive capacity. Spatial mapping, correlation analysis and multiple linear regression were used for the analysis of standardized domain scores to provide descriptive statistics. The overall mean Urban Heat Vulnerability Index was 35.68 with 15.0% of neighbourhoods classified as High or Very High vulnerability. The regression model was statistically significant explaining 90.7% of the UHVI variance. Environmental exposure had the greatest positive influence followed by the socioeconomic exposure, while adaptive capacity significantly lowered vulnerability. Spatial patterns revealed priority intervention zones as neighbourhoods where there were high surface temperatures, high density, social disadvantage and limited adaptive resources. The integrated framework offers a concrete foundation for addressing urban greening and cooling, health services, heat warning systems and neighbourhood resilience investments.