Are climate shelters accessible to heat-vulnerable populations?
Climate shelters are public spaces intended to provide protection during extreme temperatures. Barcelona has over 360 summer climate shelters, located in places like schools, libraries, and parks. Municipal data estimates that 98% of residents have a shelter within a 10-minute walk.
But do high-risk groups have adequate access to shelters during heatwaves?
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According to the Lancet Countdown Europe report (2024), during extreme weather event, children and the elderly are considered to be among the most vulnerable population. We mapped the distribution of these groups in Barcelona.
Who are the vulnerable population groups and where are they?
For each square in the map, we coloured the estimated vulnerable population living there1, from less than twenty, between twenty and sixty, and more than sixty vulnerable residents.
[1]: The vulnerable population is divided into three quantiles, with each quantile representing approximately 33% of the population. Each group is depicted by a different color
Are vulnerable populations
populations covered by the climate shelters?
Mapping climate shelters accessibility for vulnerable populations in Barcelona
Climate shelter coverage for vulnerable populations in Barcelona is adequate, and our additional analysis aims to further enhance support for the most at-risk groups.
We compared the service coverage across Barcelona's districts.
All districts cover more than 75% of their vulnerable residents.
In particular, in Ciutat Vella, 100% of the most vulnerable population have a climate shelter within a 10-minute walk.
How does climate shelters accessibility vary by district?
How is climate shelters coverage affected in August?
In August, climate shelter coverage continues to support 75% of vulnerable residents.
Click the play button in the panel below to view the time series and see how coverage varies throughout the summer months.
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Despite some existing gaps, Barcelona's climate shelter coverage at 10-minute walking distance is adequate. The city council aims to improve this by ensuring that all residents can reach a shelter within 5 minutes by 2030. The target demonstrates a commitment to equitable access, although addressing current gaps and enhancing overall accessibility remains a challenging task.
To ensure a good service of the network, challenges such as extending operating hours, diversifying shelter types, and managing capacity must also be addressed.
As seen on the analysis, understanding people's needs is key. In this case, how are the people who need it most distributed? Thanks to the collaboration between Barcelona City Council and vCity, we are analysing socio-demographic data to understand the distribution of the vulnerable population.
Through vCity’s development of urban digital twins, we aim to help urban policy-making and model human-centric solutions for planning challenges.
How can climate shelters accessibility improve?
Now it's your turn!
Scroll to the next slide and play with the map
1. Use this side menu to filter for different categories...
3. Click on each climate shelter to get more info
2. ...and this side menu to filter for opening days
4. Hover on each coverage area to see the estimated vulnerable population within a 10-minute walk of the corresponding climate shelter
Try it yourself!
Collaborators and vCity team
- Serena Mombelli, visiting researcher; research Group in Mobility, Transport, and Territory (GEMOTT); Autonomous University of Barcelona
- Patricio Reyes, senior researcher; vCity lead
- Àlex Capilla, physicist; vCity visitor
- Roger González, data scientist; vCity visitor
- Sol Bucalo, senior data visualization designer; vCity apps and interface
- David García, software developer; vCity apps and interface
- Fernando Cucchietti, senior researcher; vCity management
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Paula Fernández, graphic comunicator; vCity content and communications
The UNICO-GDU-HPC project, part of the UNICO I+D Cloud programme, has the Ministry for Digital Transformation and of Civil Service and the EU-Next Generation EU as financing entities, within the framework of the PRTR and the MRR.
Do you want to continue the analysis?
Go to the full screen interactive map
This project is part of the Proximity City Living Lab, within the framework of the vCity project.
- Alba Alonso, CARTO advisor, and all the CARTO team
- BSC Data Visualization Group
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center, BSC
- All the beta-testers
Special thansks to
Extras
Are climate shelters accessible to everyone?
Climate shelters are public spaces that provide safety during extreme temperatures. Barcelona has over 360 shelters in places like schools, libraries, and parks to protect vulnerable groups.
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Try it yourself!
July
August
However, the type of shelter and its opening days can affect the availability of climate shelters.
In August, climate shelter coverage continues to support 75% of vulnerable residents.
In August, climate shelters accessibility for vulnerable populations in Barcelona
However, the type of shelter and its opening days can affect the availability of climate shelters.
In August, climate shelter coverage continues to support 75% of vulnerable residents.
Copy of Climate shelters
By pareyesv
