Our activities were carried out with the goal of proposing a behavioral change model to reduce the risk of heatstroke under hot weather conditions for the 2027 GREEN×EXPO (International Horticultural Expo) to be held in Yokohama.
During FY2025, with the cooperation of citizen volunteers, we visualized and analyzed the risk of heatstroke during outdoor horticultural activities under direct sunlight and conducted a hypothesis-driven study to identify effective risk reduction measures.
From July to September, environmental data, including air temperature, humidity, Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT), and land surface temperature, were collected alongside heart rate data during both work and rest periods from eight volunteers, primarily in their 60s to 80s, selected from a total of 16 citizen volunteers who participated in horticultural activities at the Hiyoshi Station flowerbeds and the rooftop garden of the Kohoku Ward Office.
The results indicated changes in heart rate associated with cooling the neck, suggesting the potential effectiveness of this behavior in preventing heatstroke. In addition, interviews with the participants revealed several challenges related to commonly recommended heatstroke prevention practices.
Applicable regions
Kanagawa Prefecture City of Yokohama Kohoku Ward
Implementation period
June 01, 2017 - present
Community and Regional Affairs category
Regional collaboration as research targets and implementation sites/research that aims to popularize region-specific issues
Social collaboration through advanced research
Education of students/human resource development for the next generation
Two-way recycling-oriented collaboration with local communities and societies
Related websites
Related agreements, etc.
Agreement on a collaborative partnership between the Keio University Graduate School of System Design and Management and City of Yokohama Kohoku Ward Office
Campus
Hiyoshi
Person in charge
Graduate School of System Design and Management Professor Naohiko Kotake
Inquiries
sdm@info.keio.ac.jp