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When temperatures sizzle, what do people in Portland do: crank up their air conditioning, drive to an indoor mall, or lay out in a backyard kiddy pool? What do people in Houston do (and don’t forget they have the added whammy of high humidity)?

Air quality, energy consumption, and public policy could all be affected by the answers to these questions.

David Sailor, a mechanical and materials engineering professor, is leading a team of researchers working on a project titled “Complex Interactions Among Urban Climate, Air Quality, and Adaptive-Reactive Human Response.” Portland and Houston are the focuses of the four-year, $1.7 million project. The scientists will study how residents of those cities behave during adverse weather conditions or in response to health advisories, and how that human response in turn affects urban climate and air quality.

Cities often develop policies during heat waves or episodes of poor air quality, but don’t take into account the potential interactions or measure outcomes, says Sailor. For example, Portland drivers are encouraged to carpool or use mass transit on days when the air quality is particularly bad. This seems to make sense, but no one really knows how effective it is in redirecting behavior or cutting down on air pollution.

“An improved understanding of these interactions will enable the development and implementation of improved policies and advisory systems,” says Sailor.