Unpacking the Dynamics of Urban Cooling: A Spatio-Temporal Assessment of Distributive Equity in Atlanta

Although targeted greening interventions are widely recognized as a strategy to mitigate socio-thermal disparities, they risk reproducing climate injustice if their localized benefits are inequitably distributed. Current environmental justice literature often relies on aggregate-level analyses to examine pathways to distributive equity. However, by implicitly assuming residential stability, these macro-scale perspectives overlook the micro-level dynamics of the green space paradox, masking how localized cooling benefits and sociodemographic displacement intersect within the same urban fabric. To address this gap, this study investigates the distributive equity of urban greening across two spatial scales over time in Atlanta, Georgia. At the aggregate city scale, decadal (2000–2020) satellite-derived land surface temperatures and census data were utilized to assess thermal disparities between the lowest and highest income quintiles. Concurrently, at the micro-scale, high-resolution microclimate simulations of newly developed local parks were integrated with longitudinal analyses (2006–2020) of nearby household income shifts. The findings reveal a stark divergence: (1) at the aggregate level, land surface temperature distributions among the lowest-income quintile declined significantly, suggesting improved socio-thermal equity; however, (2) micro-scale simulations demonstrated localized daytime cooling effects of up to 1.1℃, which were (3) accompanied by severe socioeconomic restructuring, drastically reducing the proportion of lower-income households in the immediate vicinity. Ultimately, these multi-scalar results demonstrate that physical cooling is decoupled from socioeconomic benefits. To achieve genuine urban heat justice, climate adaptation strategies must consider not only physical interventions but also structurally integrate proactive, anti-displacement measures. • Greening risk climate injustice if localized cooling is inequitably distributed. • Socio-thermal disparities declined at the aggregate city level. • New parks provided cooling but surrounding lower-income proportions declined. • Anti-displacement measures are key to advancing urban heat justice.