IN THE NEWS: Larsen discusses heat-trapping Detroit homes with Washington Post
In a recent article about U.S. homes without air conditioning, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning’s Larissa Larsen told the Washington Post that roughly a third of Detroit residents live in homes that are 80 years or older, which can become heat traps during hot stretches because they lack proper insulation and newer windows.
Larsen, professor of urban and regional planning, has spent years researching and advocating for solutions to the potentially deadly consequences of extreme heat on vulnerable populations. In the article, she also notes that some of these older Detroit homes are made of brick, which absorbs heat during the day and radiates it in the evening instead of allowing the home to cool down.
“Those kinds of things are an impediment to having, if you have an AC system, for it to function efficiently,” Larsen said.
The Post also reports that residents of neighborhoods with a higher number of homes without air conditioning often suffer higher levels of chronic disease and social isolation. In Michigan’s Wayne County, nearly 1 in 10 households lack cooling, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. In Detroit, an estimated 37,000 households — about 17% of the city — don’t have air conditioning, with as many as 1 in 5 homes lacking cooling in some neighborhoods.
Read the full article at the Washington Post. (Registration or a paid subscription may be required for full access.)
