Heat and experienced racial segregation

Abstract

Racial segregation remains a persistent social challenge in cities worldwide. While public spaces promote diverse encounters, recent research suggests that extreme temperatures influence how much time individuals spend in these places. We evaluate whether such behavioral responses affect racial segregation, highlighting a previously unexplored channel between global warming and social welfare. Using mobile phone data on movement patterns to millions of locations in 315 US cities between 2018 and 2020, we estimate an index of experienced segregation in visits to different destinations between whites and other ethnic groups. We then exploit week-to-week variation in temperatures and the segregation index within cities to show that heat increases segregation, especially among individuals from lower-income areas and at places for leisure activities. A week with average maximum temperatures of 33 ${}^{\circ }$C in a city with moderate baseline segregation like Los Angeles moves the experienced segregation about 14 % closer to the level prevailing in the more segregated city of Atlanta. Climate projections demonstrate that mitigation policies can have significant co-benefits in cushioning future increases in racial segregation.