Abstract
The multisector impacts of extreme heat are a growing global threat. Across the world, diverse actors are responding to these challenges, but knowledge on who is responding and what strategies they deploy is lacking. Within developed, high income countries like the United States, the interactions between the building and energy sectors are particularly important for modulating residential extreme heat exposure. Previous research has documented how households forgo comfortable thermal environments at home and/or critical expenses to maintain an affordable energy bill. However, these studies have inadequately captured cumulative exposures to extreme heat and have failed to consider how residential heat exposure can interact with energy burden to influence intersectional risks. Although not explicitly designed as heat responses, energy assistance programs are being retooled and expanded to help households manage both high energy bills and extreme temperatures at home, but information on the efficacy of the most common response, energy bill assistance, is virtually nonexistent. Through three research chapters, this dissertation unites the fields of equity-oriented adaptation science and multisector dynamics to addresses these key knowledge gaps. I leverage a mixed-methods approach that spans disciplines, blending systematic review, community-engaged research, machine learning, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis, and statistics and econometrics. Combined, this dissertation provides a comprehensive overview of global to local responses to extreme heat, focusing on the interconnected housing–energy nexus.