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Climate change is affecting the quality of life and well-being of residents of U.S. communities and neighborhoods, posing a critical challenge for municipalities attempting to simultaneously address competing economic interests and public welfare concerns through climate adaptation policies.

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Defining the direct relationship between dwindling community access to amenities and climate change has been recognized as the foundation to socially just forms of adaptation (Markhvida et al 2020. For example, Albouy et al. (2016) demonstrates that under high emission scenario climate change, average US public welfare loss will be between 1 % and 4 % of income per year by year 2070–2099.

Climate change research has demonstrated that climatic stressors reduce the quality of life across a variety of contexts. Such conditions include disappearing coastal communities due to sea-level rise and storm surge (Alexander et al., 2012, McGranahan et al., 2007, Wu et al., 2002), increasing frequency of storms that destroys places of local cultural and social value that give meaning to communities (Arias-Maldonado, 2015, Hino et al., 2017, Quinn et al., 2019), and the growing inhabitability of places under duress from extreme heat waves, which are increasing the risk of illness and death (Depietri et al., 2013, Margolis, 2021, Telesca et al., 2018). These quality of life stressors affect one’s daily life, well-being, and emotional response to various social, environmental, and economic circumstances (Kaniasty, 2012).

In connection with these observations, scholars are closely examining how socioeconomic changes associated with urbanization (e.g., real-estate driven development) affect risk exposure to hazards and quality of life in urban coastal environments where these relations are acutely pronounced (Markhvida et al., 2020). This includes evidence of broader connections of climate change to displacement, urban economic development and risk exposure (Anguelovski et al., 2019, Keenan, 2018), and dislocation of communities who cannot afford to rebuild following hurricanes (Aune et al., 2020, Barile et al., 2020).

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S22

Climate change impacts human health in both direct and indirect ways1 ,2 . Extreme heat waves, rising sea level, changes in precipitation resulting in flooding and droughts, and intense hurricanes can directly cause injury, illness, and even death3 . The effects of climate change can also indirectly affect health through alterations to the environment. For example, worsening air pollution levels can have negative impacts on respiratory and cardiovascular conditions4 .

Changes in temperature and rainfall can alter the survival, distribution, and behavior of insects and other species that can lead to changes in infectious diseases5 . Increases in precipitation, storm surge, and sea temperature can lead to more water-related illnesses6 . Climate change can also affect food safety, exposing people to contaminated foods that can result in foodborne illnesses7 . In addition, climate change can affect mental health and well-being8 ,9 .

https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/programs/climatechange/health_impacts