Methodology Estimating urban heat island (UHI) index at the census tract level

The document describes a six-step process to calculate the Urban Heat Island (UHI) index for U.S. cities by overlaying city boundaries, census tracts, and Land Cover Zone (LCZ) maps. The methodology involves calculating the percentage of various LCZ types within each tract and applying temperature parameters based on impervious cover, permeable surfaces, building height, albedo, and population density. City-wide values are then determined by summing the population in census tracts that exceed specific UHII temperature thresholds.

• The analysis targets the 50 largest U.S. cities by population, though eight specific cities—Long Beach, Oakland, Arlington, Columbus, El Paso, Ft. Worth, Mesa, and Virginia Beach—were excluded because they were not in the standard media market list, were part of another market, or were missing from the city shapefile.
• The UHI index is calculated by identifying Land Cover Zone (LCZ) types within census tracts and applying temperature parameters associated with impervious cover, permeable surfaces, building height, albedo, and population density, while excluding open water from the analysis.
• City-wide population values for specific UHII threshold temperatures (such as 7°F or 8°F) are derived by summing the total population of all census tracts that exceed those designated thresholds.

APA

Climate Central (2023). Methodology Estimating urban heat island (UHI) index at the census tract level. https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/4bC5lrbb2pjRfvsjHu81zV/9774cc03062b3bb44e5fd11533cf28c8/Methodology_for_estimating_UHI_at_the_Census_tract_level.pdf

Chicago

Climate Central. Methodology Estimating urban heat island (UHI) index at the census tract level. 2023. https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/4bC5lrbb2pjRfvsjHu81zV/9774cc03062b3bb44e5fd11533cf28c8/Methodology_for_estimating_UHI_at_the_Census_tract_level.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Central |title=Methodology Estimating urban heat island (UHI) index at the census tract level |date=25 July 2023 |url=https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/4bC5lrbb2pjRfvsjHu81zV/9774cc03062b3bb44e5fd11533cf28c8/Methodology_for_estimating_UHI_at_the_Census_tract_level.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatecentral2023methodology, author = {{Climate Central}}, title = {{Methodology Estimating urban heat island (UHI) index at the census tract level}}, institution = {Climate Central}, year = {2023}, month = jul, url = {https://assets.ctfassets.net/cxgxgstp8r5d/4bC5lrbb2pjRfvsjHu81zV/9774cc03062b3bb44e5fd11533cf28c8/Methodology_for_estimating_UHI_at_the_Census_tract_level.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }