Legal Tools For Cities To Cope With Extreme Heat

Heat causes more deaths in the U.S. than any other natural hazard— more than floods, hurricanes, or tornadoes. As a result of climate change, it is getting worse. Average annual temperatures are now about 1.8°F higher than they were over the period 1895-2016, they will go up to about 2.5°F by mid-century, and if greenhouse gas emissions continue on the current path, they could rise almost 12°F by 2100, and heat waves that now occur once every 20 years could become annual events, according to the U.S. Global Change Research Program.

It is even worse in cities due to the urban heat island effect. Dark pavement and rooftops, cement, and other artificial surfaces absorb the heat of the sun; vehicle engines and air conditioning exhausts spew heat; soil that has been paved over can no longer retain and then evaporate water. Many U.S. cities and suburbs are up to 10°F warmer than the surrounding countryside. Even one or two degrees can make a significant difference in mortality.

This column discusses legal tools that could help cities and their residents cope with this dangerous phenomenon.

Housing

In every state, residential leases are legally deemed to include a "warranty of habitability," meaning that the apartment or house is livable, safe and clean. This always requires heat to be provided when it is cold, but it rarely means that there must be air conditioning when it is hot, though if the landlord has provided an air conditioner, it should be in working order. An exception is Phoenix, where the city code requires rental housing to have cooling that keeps the temperature no greater than 86°F

Air conditioning is generally not required in public housing. Sometimes the government will pay for the machines but rarely for the electricity. In New York City, almost 90 percent of all households have AC, but less than half of those in public housing. Many people who have AC cannot afford the electricity to run it.

State legislatures should expand the warranty of habitability to require that tenants be provided protection against heat as well as cold. Low-income energy assistance programs should be fully funded and should cover both the purchase of ACs and the electricity to run them (as they now help pay for heating oil and gas). As is now the case with military family housing, public housing in all but the coolest areas should have AC.

ACs are, of course, major energy consumers. The U.S. strengthened its energy efficiency standards for ACs in 2017...