6 results on '"de Guzman, Edith B."'
Search Results
2. Cooler and Healthier: Increasing Tree Stewardship and Reducing Heat-Health Risk Using Community-Based Urban Forestry
- Author
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de Guzman, Edith B, Wohldmann, Erica L, and Eisenman, David P
- Subjects
Public Health ,Health Sciences ,Prevention ,Clinical Trials and Supportive Activities ,Clinical Research ,urban forestry ,tree stewardship ,climate adaptation ,urban cooling ,extreme heat ,urban sustainability ,civic ecology ,heat mitigation ,environmental psychology ,Built Environment and Design - Abstract
Heat exposure poses health risks that disproportionately burden disadvantaged communities. Trees protect against heat, but significant barriers exist to growing robust urban forests. In drier climates, complex logistics of watering during a multi-year establishment period pose a challenge because street trees are typically unirrigated and funding for maintenance is generally unavailable. This study tested the impacts of varying theory-guided community engagement approaches on beliefs, attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors related to foster street tree stewardship and individual-level heat mitigation actions in 116 households in Los Angeles County, USA. We tested a control intervention against experimental messaging focused on either public health or environmental health, and also segmented participants by the degree of prior household engagement with a local tree planting group. Outcomes measured were soil moisture, tree health, and survey responses indicating benefits and barriers related to tree stewardship. Results indicate that intervention messages had limited effect on these outcomes, and that level of engagement by the tree planting group was a stronger predictor of tree stewardship. We also found that tree stewardship correlated positively to heat protection measures, suggesting that environmental engagement may be an effective portal to reducing heat risk.
- Published
- 2023
3. Increasing trees and high-albedo surfaces decreases heat impacts and mortality in Los Angeles, CA
- Author
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Kalkstein, Laurence S, Eisenman, David P, de Guzman, Edith B, and Sailor, David J
- Subjects
Earth Sciences ,Atmospheric Sciences ,Climate-Related Exposures and Conditions ,Climate Change ,Global Warming Climate Change ,Climate Action ,Cities ,Hot Temperature ,Los Angeles ,Trees ,Weather ,Extreme heat ,Heat-related illness ,Urban heat island ,Urban greening ,Urban cooling ,Climate health ,Other Physical Sciences ,Public Health and Health Services ,Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences ,Atmospheric sciences ,Climate change science ,Public health - Abstract
There is a pressing need for strategies to prevent the heat-health impacts of climate change. Cooling urban areas through adding trees and vegetation and increasing solar reflectance of roofs and pavements with higher albedo surface materials are recommended strategies for mitigating the urban heat island. We quantified how various tree cover and albedo scenarios would impact heat-related mortality, temperature, humidity, and oppressive air masses in Los Angeles, California, and quantified the number of years that climate change-induced warming could be delayed in Los Angeles if interventions were implemented. Using synoptic climatology, we used meteorological data for historical summer heat waves, classifying days into discrete air mass types. We analyzed those data against historical mortality data to determine excess heat-related mortality. We then used the Weather Research and Forecasting model to explore the effects that tree cover and albedo scenarios would have, correlating the resultant meteorological data with standardized mortality data algorithms to quantify potential reductions in mortality. We found that roughly one in four lives currently lost during heat waves could be saved. We also found that climate change-induced warming could be delayed approximately 40-70 years under business-as-usual and moderate mitigation scenarios, respectively.
- Published
- 2022
4. A socio-ecological approach to align tree stewardship programs with public health benefits in marginalized neighborhoods in Los Angeles, USA
- Author
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de Guzman, Edith B, Escobedo, Francisco J, and O'Leary, Rachel
- Subjects
Environmental Sciences ,Public Health ,Health Sciences ,Behavioral and Social Science ,Life on Land ,urban forest management ,urban forest equity ,community engagement ,tree planting ,community-based climate adaptation ,collaborative ecosystem management - Abstract
Extreme heat in the United States is a leading cause of weather-related deaths, disproportionately affecting low-income communities of color who tend to live in substandard housing with limited indoor cooling and fewer trees. Trees in cities have been documented to improve public health in many ways and provide climate regulating ecosystem services via shading, absorbing, and transpiring heat, measurably reducing heat-related illnesses and deaths. Advancing “urban forest equity” by planting trees in marginalized neighborhoods is acknowledged as a climate health equity strategy. But information is lacking about the efficacy of tree planting programs in advancing urban forest equity and public wellbeing. There is a need for frameworks to address the mismatch between policy goals, governance, resources, and community desires on how to green marginalized neighborhoods for public health improvement—especially in water-scarce environments. Prior studies have used environmental management-based approaches to evaluate planting programs, but few have focused on equity and health outcomes. We adapted a theory-based, multi-dimensional socio-ecological systems (SES) framework regularly used in the public health field to evaluate the Tree Ambassador, orPromotor Forestal, program in Los Angeles, US. The program is modeled after the community health worker model—where frontline health workers are trusted community members. It aims to address urban forest equity and wellbeing by training, supporting, and compensating residents to organize their communities. We use focus groups, surveys, and ethnographic methods to develop our SES model of community-based tree stewardship. The model elucidates how interacting dimensions—from individual to society level—drive urban forest equity and related public health outcomes. We then present an alternative framework, adding temporal and spatial factors to these dimensions. Evaluation results and our SES model highlight drivers aiding or hindering program trainees in organizing communities, including access to properties, perceptions about irrigation responsibilities, and lack of trust in local government. We also find that as trainee experience increases, measures including self- and collective efficacy and trust in their neighbors increase. Findings can inform urban forestry policy, planning, and management actions at the government and non-profit levels that aim to increase tree cover and reduce heat exposure in marginalized communities.
- Published
- 2022
5. Hot Climate, Cool Shade: Community-Based Methods for Urban Forest Equity and Heat Health
- Author
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de Guzman, Edith B.
- Subjects
Urban forestry ,Climate change ,Public health ,civic ecology ,climate adaptation ,community engagement ,heat mitigation ,tree stewardship ,urban cooling - Abstract
In a growing number of cities around the world, urban forestry is receiving investment for its social and ecological benefits. As the planet warms, advancing urban forest equity by planting trees in marginalized neighborhoods is acknowledged as a climate health equity strategy to counter heat exposure, which disproportionately burdens under-resourced communities. However, significant barriers exist to growing robust urban forests, and tradeoffs of tree planting are often not considered. In drier climates, complex logistics of watering during a multi-year establishment period pose a challenge because street trees are typically unirrigated and funding for maintenance is generally insufficient, creating an expectation that community members will provide stewardship. This dissertation presents three mixed-methods studies. The first is an empirical investigation of the thermal benefits of trees on residential spaces, contributing insights about time-of-day indoor heat exposure by residents who have limited access to air conditioning. Varied theory-guided community methods are then tested to explore the potential of resident engagement in tree stewardship to advance urban forest equity and reduce heat risk. A second study explores behavior change strategies around resident volunteerism in tree stewardship, testing environmental health and public health interventions and correlating outcomes to the degree of engagement with a community organization. A third study presents an alternative approach which equips frontline community members by providing compensation, training, and a support network as they engage neighbor-to-neighbor around tree stewardship and heat mitigation. These studies serve to elucidate the suite of expectations that the co-production of the urban forest creates, parsing out how reasonable and realistic the assumptions made by these programs are or are not, and evaluating their effectiveness. The potential of tree planting to contribute to green gentrification is also discussed. The dissertation concludes by suggesting that trees are a type of marginal, linear greening that has the benefit of being a nimble, distributed amenity, and which brings a reduced likelihood of unintended consequences compared to more grandiose forms of urban greening – provided it is deeply community-driven. Policy and program implications of the research and possible directions for future research are also provided.
- Published
- 2023
6. A socio-ecological approach to align tree stewardship programs with public health benefits in marginalized neighborhoods in Los Angeles, USA
- Author
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de Guzman, Edith B., primary, Escobedo, Francisco J., additional, and O'Leary, Rachel, additional
- Published
- 2022
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