2026-04-07 カリフォルニア大学アーバイン校（UCI）
The study’s senior author, Jason A. Douglas, UC Irvine associate professor and vice chair of health, society and behavior, conducts fieldwork measuring the surface temperatures of park equipment. William Pomeroy
＜関連情報＞
- https://news.uci.edu/2026/04/07/mapping-urban-heat-from-space-reveals-dangerous-inequities-in-la-public-parks/
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s42949-026-00366-5
ロサンゼルスの公共公園やオープンスペースにおける温度の不均一性をリモートセンシングによって明らかに Thermal inequities in public parks and open spaces in Los Angeles determined by remote sensing
Ashley Agatep,Joshua B. Fisher,Kainani Tacazon,Ambar Rivera,Rossmery Zayas,Reginald Archer,Juan Carlos Ruiz Malagon & Jason A. Douglas
npj Urban Sustainability Published:18 March 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-026-00366-5 Unedited version
Abstract
Urban heat island (UHI) effects are amplified by disparities in community-level cooling infrastructure—such as urban public parks and open spaces (PPOS)—with the most severe impacts occurring in communities that lack sufficient city-wide cooling resources. We found that the underserved community of South Los Angeles, as compared to their neighboring West Los Angeles counterparts, suffers a double burden of inequitable (1) access to and (2) absence of cooling materials and surfaces within these spaces, resulting in significantly hotter temperatures. Identifying these inequities requires high-resolution temporal and spatial mapping of surface temperatures, which has been previously limited. In this community-based participatory research partnership, we implement novel thermal-downscaling techniques to evaluate PPOS temperature differences through fine-resolution surface temperature estimates in Los Angeles County. We found that the underserved community of South Los Angeles, as compared to their neighboring West Los Angeles counterparts, suffers a double burden of inequitable access to cooling materials and surfaces within these spaces, resulting in significantly hotter temperatures. This thermal inequity presents a major public health hazard, as 36% of all PPOS in South Los Angeles reached or surpassed the thermal burn pain threshold, while no PPOS in West Los Angeles reached this threshold. These results inform policies regarding the development of recreational spaces within underserved communities.
