Speaker Series—The Socio-Spatial Manufacturing of Climate Risk

Join us for lunch, learning, and conversation at the next installment of the HEROP Speaker Series on Friday, Nov. 13th, at 12 PM CT. Coffee and networking session to follow. For folks outside of the UIUC community, please join us via Zoom!

The in-person option is open to the University of Illinois community (students, staff, and faculty). Please use the RSVP option on the right for the in-person portion of the event. We will have lunch for all attendees who RSVP by Wednesday @ 10 AM before the event.

A virtual option via Zoom is available for the public. To register for the Zoom option, please access the following link: go.illinois.edu/HEROP-ZOOM-NOV13.

Climate disasters are increasing in frequency and intensity, compounding public health burdens. Yet, empirical research rarely investigates how specific disaster risks, resource allocation for resilience, and clean energy transitions are determined by underlying social structures. Integrating critical theories with data science, I present two novel observational studies that harmonize multiple cross-sectional datasets to demonstrate how climate health burdens reproduce historical population disparities. First, using spatial clustering and stratification across U.S. counties, I evaluate resource gaps in areas facing high wildfire exposure. Results show that counties in the highest quartile of disability populations exhibit severe, statistically significant deficits in resilient housing infrastructure, economic buffers, evacuation facilitators, and localized healthcare capacity. This points to a structural manufacturing of climate disaster risk and vulnerability for disability communities, who have been historically excluded from social systems. Second, combining a two-stage Heckman selection model with quantile regressions at the U.S. census tract level, I account for community selection bias before modeling macro-climate policy distributions for clean energy investments. Findings reveal a statistically significant interaction effect: as Black population percentage increases, investment expenditure for small- and median-scale projects drops sharply in communities with more highly polluted days above WHO air quality guidelines. This demonstrates modern, market-based “pollution redlining” that deprives historical frontline communities of clean, resilient infrastructure and produces future climate health risks. Together, these studies highlight an urgent need for critical reform in public action and cross-sectoral policies. By addressing the socio-spatial determination of disaster resilience and energy transition benefits, we can move toward more structurally informed health interventions and policies to safeguard the most vulnerable populations in the climate crisis era.

School of Medicine, Washington University

Babu Gounder is a National Research Service Award (NRSA) Postdoctoral Fellow in Public Health Sciences at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and holds a PhD in Social Work from UIUC. His U.S. and international community practice experiences include working with organizations to promote mental health, environmental health, and climate resilience.

As an interdisciplinary population health researcher, his work examines how socio-environmental determinants—including climate, geography, and resource access—intersect to influence chronic health risks and outcomes. By leveraging data science, spatial epidemiology, and community-engaged methods, his research reveals hidden structural factors with public health implications for policies and practice.

His first-authored research is published across social work, policy, and public health journals, including the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. By bridging macro-level structures with localized population health, his work aims to inform multi-level implementation of microclimate policy and community health interventions.

The HEROP Speaker Series on Illinois Climate, Heat & Pollution connects scholars, experts, and innovative thinkers and highlights IL researchers and IL-based research on how a changing climate, extreme heat, and air pollution influence population health. Sharing how communities can make sense of the data to drive change locally with action-ready steps. The Healthy Regions & Policies (HEROP) Lab integrates innovative GIScience, public health, and statistical approaches to explore, understand, and promote healthy places. We’re experts in the spatial & social determinants of health. We're based in the Dept. of Geography & GIScience at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Event venue & nearby stays

Natural History Building, 1301 West Green Street, Urbana, United States

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.

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