Impacts of urban decline on local climatology: A comparison of growing and shrinking cities in the post-industrial Rust Belt
Cities such as Detroit, MI in the post-industrial Rust Belt region of the United States, have been experiencing a decline in both population and economy since the 1970's. These “shrinking cities” are characterized by aging infrastructure and increasing vacant areas, potentially resulting in mor...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-01-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Climate |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fclim.2023.1010849/full |
| _version_ | 1797945471296077824 |
|---|---|
| author | Kyotaek Hwang Kyotaek Hwang Alex Eklund Cecily Valdez Shirley A. Papuga Shirley A. Papuga |
| author_facet | Kyotaek Hwang Kyotaek Hwang Alex Eklund Cecily Valdez Shirley A. Papuga Shirley A. Papuga |
| author_sort | Kyotaek Hwang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cities such as Detroit, MI in the post-industrial Rust Belt region of the United States, have been experiencing a decline in both population and economy since the 1970's. These “shrinking cities” are characterized by aging infrastructure and increasing vacant areas, potentially resulting in more green space. While in growing cities research has demonstrated an “urban heat island” effect resulting from increased temperatures with increased urbanization, little is known about how this may be different if a city shrinks due to urban decline. We hypothesize that the changes associated with shrinking cities will have a measurable impact on their local climatology that is different than in areas experiencing increased urbanization. Here we present our analysis of historical temperature and precipitation records (1900–2020) from weather stations positioned in multiple shrinking cities from within the Rust Belt region of the United States and in growing cities within and outside of this region. Our results suggest that while temperatures are increasing overall, these increases are lower in shrinking cities than those cities that are continuing to experience urban growth. Our analysis also suggests there are differences in precipitation trends between shrinking and growing cities. We also highlight recent climate data in Detroit, MI in the context of these longer-term changes in climatology to support urban planning and management decisions that may influence or be influenced by these trends. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T20:55:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6e533d72affc43468acfd3c23191883d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2624-9553 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T20:55:37Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Climate |
| spelling | doaj.art-6e533d72affc43468acfd3c23191883d2023-01-23T04:50:12ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Climate2624-95532023-01-01510.3389/fclim.2023.10108491010849Impacts of urban decline on local climatology: A comparison of growing and shrinking cities in the post-industrial Rust BeltKyotaek Hwang0Kyotaek Hwang1Alex Eklund2Cecily Valdez3Shirley A. Papuga4Shirley A. Papuga5Department of Environmental Science and Geology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United StatesInstitute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, United StatesDepartment of Environmental Science and Geology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United StatesDepartment of Environmental Science and Geology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United StatesDepartment of Environmental Science and Geology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United StatesDepartment of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United StatesCities such as Detroit, MI in the post-industrial Rust Belt region of the United States, have been experiencing a decline in both population and economy since the 1970's. These “shrinking cities” are characterized by aging infrastructure and increasing vacant areas, potentially resulting in more green space. While in growing cities research has demonstrated an “urban heat island” effect resulting from increased temperatures with increased urbanization, little is known about how this may be different if a city shrinks due to urban decline. We hypothesize that the changes associated with shrinking cities will have a measurable impact on their local climatology that is different than in areas experiencing increased urbanization. Here we present our analysis of historical temperature and precipitation records (1900–2020) from weather stations positioned in multiple shrinking cities from within the Rust Belt region of the United States and in growing cities within and outside of this region. Our results suggest that while temperatures are increasing overall, these increases are lower in shrinking cities than those cities that are continuing to experience urban growth. Our analysis also suggests there are differences in precipitation trends between shrinking and growing cities. We also highlight recent climate data in Detroit, MI in the context of these longer-term changes in climatology to support urban planning and management decisions that may influence or be influenced by these trends.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fclim.2023.1010849/fullgreen spacetemperatureprecipitationurbanizationurban heat islandDetroit |
| spellingShingle | Kyotaek Hwang Kyotaek Hwang Alex Eklund Cecily Valdez Shirley A. Papuga Shirley A. Papuga Impacts of urban decline on local climatology: A comparison of growing and shrinking cities in the post-industrial Rust Belt Frontiers in Climate green space temperature precipitation urbanization urban heat island Detroit |
| title | Impacts of urban decline on local climatology: A comparison of growing and shrinking cities in the post-industrial Rust Belt |
| title_full | Impacts of urban decline on local climatology: A comparison of growing and shrinking cities in the post-industrial Rust Belt |
| title_fullStr | Impacts of urban decline on local climatology: A comparison of growing and shrinking cities in the post-industrial Rust Belt |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impacts of urban decline on local climatology: A comparison of growing and shrinking cities in the post-industrial Rust Belt |
| title_short | Impacts of urban decline on local climatology: A comparison of growing and shrinking cities in the post-industrial Rust Belt |
| title_sort | impacts of urban decline on local climatology a comparison of growing and shrinking cities in the post industrial rust belt |
| topic | green space temperature precipitation urbanization urban heat island Detroit |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fclim.2023.1010849/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kyotaekhwang impactsofurbandeclineonlocalclimatologyacomparisonofgrowingandshrinkingcitiesinthepostindustrialrustbelt AT kyotaekhwang impactsofurbandeclineonlocalclimatologyacomparisonofgrowingandshrinkingcitiesinthepostindustrialrustbelt AT alexeklund impactsofurbandeclineonlocalclimatologyacomparisonofgrowingandshrinkingcitiesinthepostindustrialrustbelt AT cecilyvaldez impactsofurbandeclineonlocalclimatologyacomparisonofgrowingandshrinkingcitiesinthepostindustrialrustbelt AT shirleyapapuga impactsofurbandeclineonlocalclimatologyacomparisonofgrowingandshrinkingcitiesinthepostindustrialrustbelt AT shirleyapapuga impactsofurbandeclineonlocalclimatologyacomparisonofgrowingandshrinkingcitiesinthepostindustrialrustbelt |