Understanding the Impacts of Extreme Heat on Human Activity-Mobility and Time Use Patterns

There is growing interest in understanding the interaction between weather and transportation and the ability of communities and the nation’s infrastructure to withstand extreme conditions and events. In recent years, extreme heat conditions are being felt across the globe with increasing frequency. This research project aims to provide detailed insights into how people adjust and change their activity-travel patterns and time use behavior in the face of extreme heat conditions. The American Time Use Survey (ATUS) data series is used to facilitate the analysis. Weather data is merged with time use records to enable a comparison of activity-mobility patterns between extreme heat days and non-extreme days. A series of models are estimated to understand the impact of extreme heat even after controlling for other variables. The findings reveal that heat has a significant impact on time use and activity-mobility patterns, with some groups exhibiting potentially greater vulnerability arising from the inability to adapt sufficiently to extreme heat. Designing dense, shaded urban environments, declaring heat days to allow people to stay home, and providing transportation vouchers for vulnerable populations can help mitigate the ill-effects of extreme heat.

Language

  • English

Project

  • Status: Active
  • Contract Numbers:

    69A3551747116

  • Sponsor Organizations:

    Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

    University Transportation Centers Program
    Department of Transportation
    Washington, DC  United States  20590
  • Managing Organizations:

    Center for Teaching Old Models New Tricks (TOMNET)

    Arizona State University
    Tempe, AZ  United States  85287
  • Project Managers:

    Pendyala, Ram

  • Performing Organizations:

    Arizona State University, Tempe

    Tempe, AZ  United States 
  • Principal Investigators:

    Batur, Irfan

    Pendyala, Ram

  • Start Date: 20230801
  • Expected Completion Date: 0
  • Actual Completion Date: 0
  • USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01897360
  • Record Type: Research project
  • Source Agency: Center for Teaching Old Models New Tricks (TOMNET)
  • Contract Numbers: 69A3551747116
  • Files: UTC, RIP
  • Created Date: Oct 24 2023 2:32PM