The Effects of Heatwaves in The Hague

The project entitled ‘The Effect of heatwaves on vulnerable population groups in The Hague’ collected data through surveys, Focus Group Discussions and interviews to map the needs of independently living seniors in order to adapt to heatwaves, the sustainable (frugal) solutions that exist, and the actions that the municipality could take to address these needs and thereby contribute to urban resilience. The data consisted of 164 completed surveys: 92 in Loosduinen, and 72 in Schilderswijk and Transvaal (44 and 28 respectively), as well as three Focus Group Discussions and 23 interviews with representatives of the target population, experts in the field of public health, heat, and resilience, policymakers, advisors, entrepreneurs that offer innovative solutions for use during a heatwave, healthcare workers, and housing corporations.

Desk research as well as an online validation workshop helped to contextualise and verify the findings. Research limitations included limited access to the target population due to data protection rules, selection bias, institutional barriers, the lack of an extreme heat event in the summer of 2021, and restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that over 80% of respondents were concerned about the cost of cooling and how they can cool themselves.