BC Priorities Project (BCP): Extreme Heat and Wildfire Smoke Mitigation in Social Housing

The BC Priorities Project is a research and educational partnership between SFU’s School of Public Policy and provincial government, agency and not for profit partners, which began in 2010. The goals of the project are to enhance the learning outcomes of our students by giving them the opportunity to work on issues of concern to government and community agencies, and to enhance research capacity across various sectors.

Each year, the first-year cohort of Masters students receives topics from different BCP partner organizations that are of medium to long-term interest to them. Students, in teams of four to five members, investigate the problems over the two semesters (September to April) of their Introduction to Policy Analysis I and II courses (MPP 800 and 807). The program is structured to match students’ interests with organizational needs in evidence-based research and policy analysis.

Partner Organization: BC Housing 

MPP Team Members: Kristen Belsher, Lucas Bjorgan, Tony Ho, Melissa Lappage, Emily Saint, and Belda Winata,

Here is an excerpt from the team’s BCP report which was presented to the partner organization.

In British Columbia, extreme heat and wildfire smoke events are becoming more common as climate change continues to impact weather patterns around the world. These events pose a significant threat to the well-being of all residents of British Columbia, including social housing residents, whose properties are owned and operated by the government and/or non-profit organizations. 

Simon Fraser University’s School of Public Policy has partnered with BC Housing through the BC Priorities project to research and analyze responses to extreme heat events and wildfire smoke in the social housing sector. The work is guided by the following policy problem: Current social housing in BC is not adequately prepared to protect vulnerable social housing residents who are particularly susceptible to negative health impacts caused by extreme heat and wildfire smoke.

The primary research questions that guide our research and analysis include:

• What policies and best practices exist to help the social housing sector respond to extreme heat and poor air quality events?
• Where have these approaches been used, what are their strengths and weaknesses, and under what circumstances do they work best?
• How can equity considerations be taken into account?

Key findings from the team’s research:

• Extreme heat and wildfire smoke have been found to cause death and extreme distress/comorbidities
• Extreme heat particularly impacts subgroups such as seniors, low-income individuals, young children, communities of colour, differently-abled persons, and persons with pre-existing health conditions
• Heat vulnerability refers to populations that will endure the greatest exposure, sensitivity, and challenges to the effects of extreme heat
• Thermal inequity refers to how people of colour and low-income neighbourhoods are disproportionately affected by heat due to their limited greenery, extensive pavement, and demographics
• The Urban Heat Island Effect is the amplification of heat through urban infrastructure due to dense concentrations of pavement, tall concrete buildings, and other surfaces, all of which absorb and retain heat
• Social housing is usually located in areas with greater heat vulnerability, resulting in higher levels of heat exposure for vulnerable populations
• Current mitigation strategies in place around British Columbia include the distribution of air conditioners to offset the effect of Urban Heat Islands, cooling stations (particularly for unhoused populations), and adaptive actions from citizens (such as opening doors for a breeze or showering in cool water).
• More research and analysis will be needed in the future to address issues caused by extreme heat and wildfire smoke.

Informed by our research, we propose four policy options and analyze their merits and detractions against a set of criteria and measures designed to assess the options’ ability to address extreme heat and wildfire smoke in social housing. 

The policy options are: 

1. Residential Cooling Hubs, which entail the creation and promotion of communal cooling spaces within social housing buildings to keep residents safe within their residence during extreme heat events
2. Heat Resilience Strategy, which entails preparing and distributing extreme heat and smoke event alerts and related information
3. Retrofitting Existing Buildings, which involves updating the building fabric of existing social housing buildings with measures such as draught-proofing, insulation, and shading
4. Exploring Amendments to Expiring Operating Agreement (EOA), which calls for updating operating agreements to better address heat and smoke events in social housing residences.

To analyze and rank these policy options, we compared them to a set of six objectives with seven corresponding criteria and measures (as one objective has two criteria). All objectives are weighted equally except our key objective of protection and security, which is double weighted due to the high risk to human life posed by extreme heat and wildfire smoke. This key objective is Protection and Security, which is defined as the health and safety of social housing residents during wildfire smoke and extreme heat events. This is measured by the expected policy effect on morbidity and mortality rates of social housing residents due to these events. The second key objective is Equity, meaning the policy option’s ability to reduce the disproportionate effects of wildfire smoke or extreme heat on target populations, measured by the health and safety outcome of policy on target populations relative to the broader population. The third objective is Sustainability, which has two criteria: the effect of the policy solution on the environment, measured by greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), and the lifespan/longevity of the policy solution, measured by the number of years the technology is expected to last before major upgrades or changes are required. The fourth objective is Cost to BC Housing, measured by projected dollars spent. Our next objective is Administrative Complexity, in which we used the estimated time in years to measure the time expected to fully operationalize the policy. Finally, we conclude with Stakeholder Acceptance, with the criterion of receptiveness of stakeholders, measured by the policy’s effect on the current operational capacity of a stakeholder group.

We recommend that a policy bundle of providing residential cooling hubs, creating a heat resilience strategy, and retrofitting existing buildings be selected. All of these options work together in conjunction to fill missing gaps and address limitations the others may not have. Furthermore, they are not mutually exclusive and can be implemented alongside one another. Some policy options may be rolled out more quickly than others, to immediately address extreme heat and wildfire smoke events as the summer months draw nearer.

Our research also indicates that a number of considerations must be made when choosing and/or implementing any of the proposed policy options. This includes COVID-19, which amplifies many risks already faced by social housing residents and may make some options safer than others. Furthermore, policy options were chosen while bearing in mind funding limits.  Research is also limited by a lack of literature and expertise, as extreme heat events are a relatively new concern for not only social housing providers, but government agencies at large due to their increasing frequency.

In sum, the policy analysis put forward in this report concludes that the best option to address extreme heat and wildfire smoke events in social housing is to implement three of our proposed policies, with a particular focus on the option that can be completed more quickly. This will ensure that as many residents as possible will be safe and comfortable during the next extreme weather event.

Comments and Impact

We are always impressed by the level of dedication that MPP students bring to their BC Priorities Projects. This year our proposed topic was extreme heat: a growing concern in BC and a very serious climate change risk, particularly for vulnerable populations. The MPP students brought research and policy analysis skills, professionalism, and an important equity lens to this work. Their final report has been shared with staff across our organization as we continue to develop and refine our Extreme Heat and Wildfire Smoke Response. - Leigh Greenius, Senior Strategic Advisor, Sustainability and Resilience, BC Housing

This project was a valuable learning opportunity as it allowed us to apply our policy analysis skills to current issues and be able to provide tangible actions that can be implemented in the social housing sector. Working with BC Housing gave us the opportunity to have a meaningful and positive impact on reducing the effects of extreme heat on vulnerable populations, making this project a beneficial experience.  -Melissa Lappage, MPP student

Working on a real issue faced with the knowledge that the research and analysis we undertook could be implemented by BC Housing to make a difference in the lives of British Columbians was an incredibly valuable and humbling experience.  There are times in academic programs when one may question whether one is on the right track; I can say with confidence that the opportunity that the BCP provided me to help while gaining practical experience with government reaffirmed that I had made the right choice.  -Lucas Bjorgan, MPP student