Does Urban Green Space Mitigate Emergency Department Cases During Heat Waves?
Funded by Environmental Institute, University of Virginia, USA
2025 - Present
Topics: Geospatial health modelling · Environmental epidemiology · Climate health · Health equity · Big data analytics · Meta-analysis · Case time-series · Distributed lag non-linear models (DLNMs)
My contributions: Conceptualization · Data curation · Data analysis · Data visualization · Cartography · Software development · Code management · Writing scientific manuscripts
Skills used: Geospatial health modeling · Big data analytics · R · RMarkdown · Git · GNU Make · R package development
This project investigates whether urban green spaces can reduce health risks during periods of extreme heat. The study analyzes emergency department visits in Richmond MSA, Virginia to assess whether residents of greener neighborhoods experience fewer heat-related health emergencies.
The study integrates de-identified patient-level health data from Virginia’s All-Payer Claims Database with ERA5-Land reanalysis climate data and detailed landscape metrics. Rather than relying on simple measures of greenness, the study evaluates multiple characteristics of green spaces, including their size, shape, connectivity, and spatial distribution across neighborhoods.
The results are intended to inform urban planning and public health strategies by identifying where investments in trees, parks, and other green infrastructure could most effectively reduce heat-related health risks. By highlighting both vulnerable communities and the types of green spaces that offer the strongest protection, the project aims to support healthier, more climate-resilient cities.
Presentations
Ha, J., Hosseini, P., Davis, R., Le‑Huynh, T.‑L., Novicoff, W., Delaar, G., Yoo, J., & Sa. H., Urban green space and emergency department visits during heat waves [Oral presentation], Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, Portland, Oregon, USA, March 2026.