Inspired by NPR’s Heat&Health article about environmental injustice, I worked with a team to create a data visualization titled “Measuring Microclimates Across LA Cities” using an application called Processing. During our data collection, we inputted both average temperature in the month of August (the hottest month of the year) while maintaining socioeconomic diversity for a small selection of 28 cities and its highest temperature to account for inconsistencies with the AQI fluctuating with the intense wildfires last year. We additionally drew from a report of a park needs assessment to add a variable of green spaces that were color coordinated under a spectrum of discrete variables within a range of Very Low to Very High. Although difficult to reach a conclusion, we have been finding correlations between income distribution and the amount of trees in neighborhoods causing weather changes accordingly. As expressed in the hues of the radial background, it varies depending on location but the alarming rates at which certain communities are being disproportionately affected by the climate crisis could lead to continual displacement.

Each circle represents one neighborhood in Los Angeles County and is labeled with the neighborhood name and its respective median income. Neighborhoods are plotted along an x and y axis, with the x-axis denoting AQI and the y-axis representing temperature. The color scale (beige to dark green) indicates the amount of green space available in each neighborhood (green space needs) – dark green distinguished cities with “very low needs,” lighter green distinguished cities with “low needs,” lime distinguished cities with “medium needs,” greenish-taupe distinguished cities with “high needs,” and beige distinguished cities with “very high needs.”

Aditi Madhok ’23 is a mixed-mediaworm from Bay Area, California who’s not using that word correctly. She overuses the notes app on her phone when reflecting about her generation, watches YouTube in 2x but doesn’t process it, and likes to claim to follow niche Medium publications. When she retires, she aspires to be a Twitter or Tumblr meme librarian, or contribute to the story development of a YA dystopian novel/TV show.