ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the importance of sociocultural elements, and explains the notion of population heat-vulnerability. It focuses on the way that heat influences urban environments and human behavior, particularly health-supportive activity such as walking and social connection. The chapter examines the creation of resilient places and looks at how public place-making can support people to live healthy lives in a warming climate. Global warming is the most significant factor affecting the world’s climate. Helping people to keep as healthy and well as possible in the face of a warming climate is also an important aspect of maintaining people’s resilience. The term ‘weather’ refers to the atmospheric variables for a brief time, whereas ‘climate’ represents the atmospheric conditions for a longer period and generally denotes the normal or mean course of the weather. Social and cultural dimensions play an important part in determining how societies respond to climate-related risks.
