Studying Extreme Weather Event Impacts for Transit-Reliant Unhoused Populations

As the homelessness crisis continues in the San Francisco Bay Area and encampments are cleared from central business districts, there has been a growth of encampments along urban streams. Residents of these urban stream encampments often do not have access to a vehicle and are reliant on public transit or active transportation (i.e. walking and biking). Prior research has established that longer commutes by transit lead to more environmental exposures. This suggests that homeless individuals are disproportionately exposed to extreme weather events, such as atmospheric rivers, heatwaves, and fires. At the same time, access to transportation options (e.g. free shuttle buses and transit) are critical for emergency preparedness.

This project asks: 1) What are the key barriers preventing unhoused individuals from effectively accessing the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) transit system?; and 2) How accessible are weather-related emergency services in Santa Clara for urban stream encampment residents?

To understand the transit accessibility barriers facing unhoused individuals and to explore how extreme weather events exacerbate these mobility challenges, the proposed study employs a mixed-methods approach involving: a) a geospatial analysis to explore the relationship between homeless encampments along urban streams and access to transit and emergency services; b) semi-structured interviews with individuals residing in urban stream encampments to better understand how they cope with extreme events such heavy storms and heatwaves, and barriers they faced when trying to access key services such as emergency shelters; and c) key informant interviews with homeless service providers and stakeholders involved in transit and/or climate disaster response.