Spatial Disparities in Air Conditioning Ownership in Florida, United States

Background Air conditioning usage is the most effective intervention to prevent heat-related illnesses such as heat exhaustion and heatstroke. However, limited geographic coverage and outdated information on air conditioning (AC) availability limit extreme heat risk mapping and prevention efforts. Methods This paper contributes to this research gap by using updated AC availability data to detect areas in Florida, U.S., with significant AC needs and to assess the factors associated with AC ownership. Leveraging property databases, this study first identified Florida, U.S. census tracts by applying Moran’s I and Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA) and applied Spatial Durbin Model (SDM) to investigate the relationship between AC ownership and sociodemographic characteristics. Results Clusters of significantly high and low values (p < 0.05) of AC ownership were found across Florida. High-high clusters of AC ownership were found in the northern and eastern coasts, including large metropolitan areas such as Jacksonville, Sarasota, Fort Lauderdale, and Daytona Beach. Clusters with no AC were located in the interior of Florida. We closely looked at AC prevalence clusters in Duval County which contains the city of Jacksonville. Clusters of households with low to no AC availability were found in the urban core, where there is high poverty, poor housing conditions, and low education levels. SDM results showed a significant association between AC ownership and socioeconomic and urbanicity (urban and rural) variables. In particular, we found that a higher proportion of households without an AC are located in predominantly Black or African American neighborhoods, indicating racial disparities in AC ownership. Conclusions Our results can be used to target neighborhoods that are in great need of heat prevention measures. For instance, part of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program offers financial assistance to families with low incomes for energy bills initiated to provide AC units. The result of this study can be used to support this policy. Trial registration Not applicable