Inequality Extends to the Heat on Our Skin
People in the southwestern United States have endured unbearable heat this year, but their struggle is not evenly distributed. Homeless people face unique risks from the weather without access to shelter, air conditioning, or cold water. In cities like Los Angeles, a majority of them are Black or Latinx.
As Drew Costley writes in OneZero, only six cooling centers opened in L.A. during a heatwave earlier this month, leaving dangerously few options for the city’s 66,000 homeless residents. “That’s 11,000 homeless people per cooling center at a time when crowded spaces are particularly risky,” Costley writes, reminding us that the Covid-19 pandemic has already disproportionately impacted Black Americans.
“Black and Latino people already disproportionately suffer from the heat because of racist redlining housing practices, lack of investment in green space, underlying health conditions, and overrepresentation in outdoor occupations like farming or construction,” Costley continues. His story draws on expertise from people like Kristina Dahl, PhD, senior climate scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists. It’s a sobering reminder that, in many ways, inequality has been Sharpied into the blueprint of our future.
