Shade Equity and Heat Vulnerability Indices for UBC Vancouver Neighbourhoods
by Thomas, Mathew / Borealis Harvested Dataverse·Updated 2mo ago
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Description
Mathew Thomas created a dataset integrating LiDAR-derived shade frequency, Landsat land surface temperature, and 2021 Statistics Canada census indicators. It constructs three indices—Exposure, Social Equity, and Adaptive Capacity—and a Composite Vulnerability Index (CVI) for six University of British Columbia Vancouver neighbourhoods. The dataset was last updated on May 2, 2026, and identifies East Campus and University Boulevard as the most vulnerable areas.
Use Cases
Prioritizing neighbourhoods for shade infrastructure and tree planting based on the Composite Vulnerability Index.
Analyzing the relationship between shade frequency and land surface temperature to quantify cooling effects.
Assessing social equity in heat exposure by combining demographic sensitivity with environmental data.
Evaluating adaptive capacity for heat using water features and socioeconomic indicators.
Strengths
Integrates three distinct data sources: LiDAR, Landsat satellite imagery, and 2021 national census data.
Provides a calculated Composite Vulnerability Index for six specific neighbourhoods, with values like 0.289 for East Campus.
Identifies a moderate positive correlation (r = 0.54) between mean shade frequency and land surface temperature.
Limitations
The analysis is based on a small sample size of six neighbourhoods.
Uses 30-meter resolution data and land surface temperature as a substitute for air temperature.
Some demographic indicator values were substituted with an average where data was blank or incorrect.