Understanding how extreme heat impacts human activity-mobility and time use patterns

There is growing interest in understanding the interaction between weather and transportation and the ability of communities and the nation’s infrastructure to withstand extreme conditions and events. This study aims to provide detailed insights on how people adjust and change their activity-travel and time use behaviors in the face of extreme heat conditions. By leveraging time use records integrated with weather data, the study compares activity-mobility patterns between extreme heat days and non-extreme days. A series of models are estimated to understand the impact of extreme heat even after controlling for other variables. The findings reveal that heat significantly impacts time use and activity-mobility patterns, with some groups exhibiting potentially greater vulnerability arising from the inability to adapt sufficiently to extreme heat. Designing dense, shaded urban environments, declaring heat days to facilitate indoor stays, and providing transportation vouchers for vulnerable populations can help mitigate the ill-effects of extreme heat.