Urban heat, building design and health: a case of study in Valparaíso

Urban environments are getting hotter, and that fact has many implications on human health. Several ilnesses have been related to extreme heat, including cardiovascular system ilnesses and mental disturbance. Both outdoor and indoor conditions are often stressed by a combination of atmospheric phenomena (like heat waves) and anthropogenic heat production un urban environments. Building design can have a positive or negative impact on these conditions. Overheating of residential buildings can result in a drastically increase of exposition to heat-related illnesses, that a climate-focused building design can avoid. This paper analyses the urban temperature of the Valparaíso metropolitan region in Chile, establishing relations among medical attentions and temperatures reordered in the region during the summer period of 2024 and 2025. Users’ behavior during the hottest periods is then investigated by selecting two cases of study (one designed with climate criteria and other without) and realizing onsite monitoring and a user interview. Results show that: a) hospital attentions for some specific accident (e.g. cardiovascular) increase during hot periods in Valparaíso; b) building design has important consequences on the users’ capacity to reduce thermal stress in their residences; and c) users are actively involved with the heat management and take active part in reducing overheating at home.