Impacts of urban decline on local climatology: A comparison of growing and shrinking cities in the post-industrial Rust Belt

Abstract

Cities such as Detroit, MI in the post-industrial Rust Belt region of the United States, have been experiencing a decline in both population and economy since the 1970's. These “shrinking cities” are characterized by aging infrastructure and increasing vacant areas, potentially resulting in more green space. While in growing cities research has demonstrated an “urban heat island” effect resulting from increased temperatures with increased urbanization, little is known about how this may be different if a city shrinks due to urban decline. We hypothesize that the changes associated with shrinking cities will have a measurable impact on their local climatology that is different than in areas experiencing increased urbanization. Here we present our analysis of historical temperature and precipitation records (1900–2020) from weather stations positioned in multiple shrinking cities from within the Rust Belt region of the United States and in growing cities within and outside of this region. Our results suggest that while temperatures are increasing overall, these increases are lower in shrinking cities than those cities that are continuing to experience urban growth. Our analysis also suggests there are differences in precipitation trends between shrinking and growing cities. We also highlight recent climate data in Detroit, MI in the context of these longer-term changes in climatology to support urban planning and management decisions that may influence or be influenced by these trends.

Multidimensional Spatiotemporal Correlation Effect of County-Scale Population Shrinkage: A Case Study of Northeast China

“…Zhang Jing et al used exploratory data analysis (ESDA) and spatiotemporal weighted regression to analyze the social-economic spatial changes in counties with a shrinking population in Hubei Province [8]. Kyotaek Hwang et al studied the impact of urban shrinkage on climate change in the Rust belt region of the United States [34]. Anna Wichowska empirically studied the impact of urban shrinkage on economic development in Poland through an analysis of the population growth rate and a multiple linear regression analysis [35].…”