In addition to exploring the dimensions of well-being, examine the critical role of climate change in driving health, particularly in socioeconomically disadvantaged urban communities. For example, in metro Boston, urban heat islands overlap with Black and Latino neighborhoods. We know that climate change impacts will compound existing health inequalities, including disparities in cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Further, the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened concerns about the role of climate change in emerging infectious diseases. Also, mental health is one domain in the broader climate change and health nexus that demands greater attention. Answering how and to what extent climate change contributes to the mental health crisis in the U.S. and the role of emotional well-being in community resilience– demands the sort of integrative approaches the CLIIR Center would advance.

 

Questions we explore are: What are the interactions among inequality, health threats, and climate risk? How do scientists’ approaches to public communication about climate risk interact with or differ from local/community health knowledge and perspectives?