ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at how low-cost mass housing makes inhabitants more vulnerable to impacts of climate change such as extreme heat. The chapter, therefore, specifically aims to establish an interlinkage between climate change and public health. Rising temperatures due to climate change and urban heat island effects will generally lead to heat stress and need remedial actions at all city planning scales. The design of built spaces strongly influences residents’ exposure to heat risks. However, practices that increase communities’ resilience to heat are not yet influencing decision-making in urban planning. Low-income households in mass housing generally lack agency over their housing situation and have little means to adapt to heat. While buildings constitute their single most important and effective means of protection against heat stress, for most low-income households, design restrictions and the use of cheap building materials strongly limit this protection’s effectiveness.
