Îlots de chaleur

Cette présentation vulgarise les résultats d’études identifiant des indicateurs de comportements ou de pratiques potentiellement adoptables par les villes, municipalités et organisations du réseau de la santé pour s’adapter à divers aléas climatiques. L’étude a également mesuré le niveau d’adaptation tout en identifiant les facteurs qui poussent certaines municipalités à s’engager dans l’adoption de mesures d’adaptation.

La mortalité liée à la chaleur accablante est en voie de devenir un fardeau important sur nos systèmes de santé. De plus, ce phénomène risque de s’exacerber au cours des années à venir, notamment à cause des changements climatiques. Afin de planifier efficacement les interventions des services et structures de santé, il peut être pertinent de prendre en compte les variations interannuelles relatives à la mortalité causée par les vagues de chaleur.

Given the important role that municipalities must play in adapting to climate change, it is more than ever essential to measure their progress in this area. However, measuring municipalities’ adaptation progress presents its share of difficulties especially when it comes to comparing (on similar dimensions and over time) the situation of different municipal entities and to linking adaptation impacts to local actions. Longitudinal studies with recurring indicators could capture changes occurring over time, but the development of such indicators requires great emphasis on methodological and psychometric aspects, such as measurement validity. Therefore, this study aimed to develop and validate an index of adaptation to heatwaves and flooding at the level of municipal urbanists and urban planners.

Six études de cas ont permis d’identifier des facteurs qui motivent les instances publiques à développer des instruments de politiques publiques ainsi que d’autres qui facilitent leur mise en œuvre et qui favorisent leurs effets positifs. Trois études ont porté sur les mécanismes utilisés par les provinces ou États pour soutenir les municipalités dans leur planification de l’adaptation aux changements climatiques. Elles se sont penchées sur les instruments utilisés en Nouvelle-Écosse, au Nouveau-Brunswick et au Massachusetts. Une autre étude a porté sur l’évaluation environnementale de projets de stabilisation des berges sur la Côte-Nord, au Québec. Une cinquième étude a porté sur la prise en compte de l’adaptation aux changements climatiques dans le schéma d’aménagement et de développement (SAD) de l’agglomération de Montréal. Une sixième étude s’est penchée sur la démarche de planification Climate Ready Boston.

The aim of this study is to identify which psychosocial factors of the theory of planned behavior better predict and explain the adoption of heat and flood adaptation behaviors by municipal authorities in the Province of Quebec, Canada, and to explore the cognitive structures motivating municipal officers to adopt adaptation behaviors. The results of structural equation analyses showed that municipal authorities’ attitude toward the adoption of adaptation behaviors (i.e., the degree to which the performance of an adaptive behavior is positively or negatively valued by municipal officers) and perceived control (barriers) over adaptation behaviors significantly contributed to the prediction of readiness to adopt the behavior.

As the literature on heat tolerance suggests that the elderly are generally more heat-intolerant and suffer more from the substantial impacts of excessive heat on human health, exacerbated by their higher rate of chronic diseases, it is important to learn how to better protect this vulnerable population. Moreover, many studies have shown that, despite their vulnerability, the elderly do not necessarily perceive themselves as being at risk or see heat waves as a danger to their health. This lower risk perception could hinder their adoption of adaptive behavior. This study aimed at developing a more thorough understanding of what motivates older people from the province of Quebec, Canada, to adopt pro-adaptive behaviors to protect themselves from the heat, to better predict and explain their self-reported heat adaptation behaviors, and to identify their most important beliefs. In this study, a telephone sample of 1002 persons was used to explore the decision-making process of seniors in a way that led us to illustrate specific variables that could be targeted for awareness raising. All three variables of the theory of planned behavior (i.e., attitude, perceived social pressure, and perceived behavioral control) had a statistically significant impact on intention to adapt, while intention itself was linked to adoption of adaptive behaviors.