Associations between Green Building Design Strategies and Community Health Resilience to Extreme Heat Events: A Systematic Review of the Evidence

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 16; no. 4; p. 663
• Main Authors: Houghton, Adele, Castillo-Salgado, Carlos
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 24.02.2019; MDPI
• Subjects: Best practice; Climate Change; Conservation of Natural Resources; Design; Disease; Emissions; Extreme Heat; Green buildings; Heat; Humans; Morbidity; Neighborhoods; Public Health; Residence Characteristics; Review; Spatial analysis; Systematic review; United States > US; heat-related hazards; sustainable communities; sustainable design; climate change adaptation; climate change mitigation
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16040663

This project examined evidence linking green building design strategies with the potential to enhance community resilience to extreme heat events. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method for a systematic review, it assessed the strength of the evidence supporting the potential for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) credit requirements to reduce the adverse effects of extreme heat events and/or enhance a building’s passive survivability (i.e., the ability to continue to function during utility outages) during those events. The PRISMA Flow Diagram resulted in the selection of 12 LEED for New Construction (LEED NC) credits for inclusion in the review. Following a preliminary scan of evidence supporting public health co-benefits of the LEED for Neighborhood Development rating system, queries were submitted in PubMed using National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings Terms. Queries identified links between LEED credit requirements and risk of exposure to extreme heat, environmental determinants of health, co-benefits to public health outcomes, and co-benefits to built environment outcomes. Public health co-benefits included reducing the risk of vulnerability to heat stress and reducing heat-related morbidity and mortality. The results lay the groundwork for collaboration across the public health, civil society, climate change, and green building sectors.