Mitigating Urban Heating in Dryland Cities: A Literature Review

Wheeler, Stephen M.; Dialesandro, John; Assaf, Eleni; Agopian, Sarine; Gamberini, Virginia Carter

doi:10.1177/0885412219855779

Cited by 26 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 93 publications

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“…Urban heat can be reduced by lowering the amount of paved surfaces, increasing their albedo, changing built form in ways that produce ground-level shade, and/or increasing the quantity of vegetation, which cools both through transpiration and by producing shade [9].Vegetation, in particular, has been shown to be a strong cooling influence (e.g., [10,11]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dimensions of Thermal Inequity: Neighborhood Social Demographics and Urban Heat in the Southwestern U.S.

Dialesandro

Brazil

Wheeler

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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Exposure to heat is a growing public health concern as climate change accelerates worldwide. Different socioeconomic and racial groups often face unequal exposure to heat as well as increased heat-related sickness, mortality, and energy costs. We provide new insight into thermal inequities by analyzing 20 Southwestern U.S. metropolitan regions at the census block group scale for three temperature scenarios (average summer heat, extreme summer heat, and average summer nighttime heat). We first compared average temperatures for top and bottom decile block groups according to demographic variables. Then we used spatial regression models to investigate the extent to which exposure to heat (measured by land surface temperature) varies according to income and race. Large thermal inequities exist within all the regions studied. On average, the poorest 10% of neighborhoods in an urban region were 2.2 °C (4 °F) hotter than the wealthiest 10% on both extreme heat days and average summer days. The difference was as high as 3.3–3.7 °C (6–7 °F) in California metro areas such as Palm Springs and the Inland Empire. A similar pattern held for Latinx neighborhoods. Temperature disparities at night were much smaller (usually ~1 °F). Disparities for Black neighborhoods were also lower, perhaps because Black populations are small in most of these cities. California urban regions show stronger thermal disparities than those in other Southwestern states, perhaps because inexpensive water has led to more extensive vegetation in affluent neighborhoods. Our findings provide new details about urban thermal inequities and reinforce the need for programs to reduce the disproportionate heat experienced by disadvantaged communities.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dimensions of Thermal Inequity: Neighborhood Social Demographics and Urban Heat in the Southwestern U.S.

Dialesandro

Brazil

Wheeler

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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“…In accordance with previous studies on LST of land cover types in semi-arid cities (Azhdari et al, 2018; Bokaie et al, 2016), bare soil land cover and paved surfaces (LCZ F and E) in D6 and D22 show high levels of LST. Vegetation cover in semi-arid cities cools the air and surface through evapotranspiration and shading (Wheeler et al, 2019). Although arid and semi-arid cities do not produce significant daytime urban heat island effects, GI cooling effect can be indispensable during summer when these cities experience extreme heat (Fathi et al, 2019; Haashemi et al, 2016; Manoli et al, 2019; Martilli et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Priority Areas for Developing Green Infrastructure in Semi-arid Cities: A Case Study of Tehran

Jamali

Khaledi

Razavian

2021

Environment and Urbanization ASIA

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Urban green infrastructure (GI) approach supports building resilience, mitigating greenhouse gases emissions and adapting to the impacts of climate change. However, the development and maintenance of GI in semi-arid cities can be hindered by limitations such as available water resources. In this article, we study priority areas for GI development schemes at the neighbourhood scale through a seasonal vulnerability framework with the case study of two urban districts in the semi-arid city of Tehran, Iran. Heat mitigation and stormwater runoff control are considered as the main objectives of GI development. The results show that priority areas have high levels of land surface temperature, impervious surfaces and population density, with a low proportion of vegetation land cover. The necessary GI services vary in different local climate zones (LCZ) during the year. Although heat mitigation is required in both compact and open LCZs, the runoff control service of GI is also needed for neighbourhoods with compact midrise settings. To promote sustainability at the neighbourhood scale, the findings of the study can be used for initiating nature-based solutions and GI development projects.

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“…Schemes have been considered but not implemented at scale. Initiatives such as planting indigenous street trees for mitigating urban heating (replacing invasive species), greywater reclamation for irrigation, sunken planting pits, and using shade structures for seedlings to reduce moisture loss through evapotranspiration should be explored [84,85].…”

Section: The Need To Include Ugi In Integrated Development Plans Such As the Human Settlements Upgrading Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

Governance of Urban Green Infrastructure in Informal Settlements of Windhoek, Namibia

Wijesinghe

Thorn

2021

Sustainability

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In light of increased rural-urban migration, population growth, climate change impacts, and cascading natural, security, and health hazards, many municipalities in Sub-Saharan Africa are beginning to consider the benefits of urban green infrastructure for improving the resilience and wellbeing of residents living in informal settlements. However, present governance systems are often ill-equipped to deliver the scale of planning needed. Integration of UGI into local government mandates, spatial planning, and targeted action plans remains limited, further inhibited by scarce empirical research on the topic in Africa. Taking Windhoek, Namibia, and specifically Moses ǁGaroëb, Samora Machel, and Tobias Hainyeko Constituencies as a case study, we fitted key informant interview (n = 23), focus group (n = 20), and participant observation data into existing governance theory to investigate (a) benefits and trade-offs of present UGI in Windhoek’s informal settlements; (b) UGI governance in terms of institutional frameworks, actors and coalitions, resources, and processes; and (c) the key desirable pathways for future UGI governance in informal settlements. To this end, we used five green infrastructure initiatives to dissect governance intricacies, and found diverse opportunities for robust UGI initiatives that use innovative governance mechanisms. Additionally, the urgent need for climate resilience in Namibia offers a policy and practice window to adopt context-specific approaches for multifunctional UGI. However, for these initiatives to succeed, collaborative governance platforms and clearly delineated mandates for UGI are necessary, with explicit integration of UGI into strategies for in-situ informal settlements upgrading and green job growth.

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Mitigating Urban Heating in Dryland Cities: A Literature Review

Cited by 26 publications

References 93 publications

Dimensions of Thermal Inequity: Neighborhood Social Demographics and Urban Heat in the Southwestern U.S.

Dimensions of Thermal Inequity: Neighborhood Social Demographics and Urban Heat in the Southwestern U.S.

Priority Areas for Developing Green Infrastructure in Semi-arid Cities: A Case Study of Tehran

Governance of Urban Green Infrastructure in Informal Settlements of Windhoek, Namibia

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