Can San Diego beat the heat? A targeted approach to improving the Cool Zone system in San Diego County for heat vulnerable populations

Extreme heat events (EHE) result in the highest number of weather-related deaths, taking more lives than every other weather-related disaster combined (National Weather Service). Access to AC is one of the most important determinants of heat-related health outcomes (Barreca et al., 2016; Guirguis et al., 2018). However, the initial cost of installing or purchasing an AC plus the increased cost of electricity from running the AC is a huge barrier for a significant portion of the population. Cool Zones provide an opportunity to cool a large portion of the population at a lower cost and energy demand than increasing household AC penetration. This project aims to improve the understanding of the spatial distribution of vulnerable populations in San Diego County in relation to the existing cooling centers intended to serve those populations and to make recommendations on how to improve awareness, accessibility, and utilization