In progress

Association between Opioid-Related Injury and Built-Form Indexes Derived from Remote Sensing Data

Summary:
This project examines how built environment characteristics and neighborhood disadvantage interact to shape fatal opioid overdose risk in Cook County, Illinois. Using satellite-derived indicators—including urban development intensity, nighttime light emissions, and vegetative greenness—alongside spatial Bayesian models, we identify geographic clusters of elevated overdose mortality and assess environmental and structural risk factors at fine spatial scales.

Research Questions:

• RQ1: To what extent are neighborhood-level built environment characteristics, derived from satellite-based remote sensing data—including built-up area intensity and nighttime light emissions—associated with fatal opioid overdose risk in Cook County, after adjusting for social deprivation and urban form?
• RQ2: How do spatial patterns of deprivation and built environment intensity intersect to produce geographic clusters of elevated overdose mortality, and do these patterns persist after accounting for environmental, social, and structural factors?

Check out this Access our tutorial on environmental risk mapping here for more details.