As the heat waves circulate around the globe this year, it is time to think about surviving the heat. Much of the world’s population lives in urban centers where the heat can be far worse than in surrounding areas. Paris, France, for example, can often be as much as 18 degrees hotter in the city than in the surrounding areas. Other cities also have heat island effects. Given this, what can cities do to help residents cool off in the blistering heat we are experiencing around the world this year?
Here’s a checklist of what cities can do to provide their citizens with a way of surviving the heat.
Plant trees and make an urban forest
Many cities have bare spots that just blister under the sun. A city can undertake efforts like those in Medellin, Colombia to put trees everywhere they can, thereby providing shade and enabling the trees themselves to soak up the heat.
Create outdoor cool islands
Cool islands consist of shaded areas cooled with fountains and spray mist outlets that residents can visit to cool down. Trees and fountains can play a huge part in helping people stay cool in the heat.
Create indoor cool islands
Public areas such as museums, indoor shopping malls, churches, and schools can be made into climate-controlled spaces people can cool off in. Air conditioning is used to control the climate anyway, and this can give very real relief to folks who may not have other options — or to anyone who doesn’t want to stay pent up in their office or home.
Create green corridors
Cool islands and green corridors can enable residents to move about the city from one cooler area to another without having to pass through the most blistering hot areas under the sun, and without having to rely on cars, which only add to the heat.
Cool off public transit infrastructure
Outdoor bus, train, and taxi stops can be unbearably hot. Sometimes called “heat traps” the problem can be relieved by planting shade trees near the stops to keep them cooler. If no trees can be planted, structures to provide shade have also been used.
Build splash pools
Splash pools are a special case of outdoor cool islands — they are meant for children, who can be especially susceptible to problems from heat. Splash pools may also have other water features, spray hoses that can be deployed and removed, and even mist spraying “trees.” The kids stay cool, and they have fun, too.
Build a public water fountain infrastructure
One of the biggest dangers to residents in heat is dehydration. By putting water fountains throughout a city, and especially by doing so in a predictable way so people know where to find the fountains, residents can ensure themselves that they will be able to get the water they need to drink on hot days. Not only does this protect people; it also enables them to go about their business instead of hiding inside all day long.
How is your city doing?
These ideas are public infrastructure investments cities need to make to provide resilience to their populations. Many urban residents don’t have air conditioning, and even when they do, the lack of outdoor cooling solutions like those mentioned here means that residents are stuck inside during heat waves. As such waves become longer and hotter, which they seem likely to do, indoor life will become stifling for many.
So, the question is, how is your city doing? I’d be very interested to hear in comments what the local experience is. How is the city doing on urban forest development? Are they alleviating heat traps associated with public transit? Do you have fountains and splash parks? Where must people go to get a drink of water? And so on. Please name your city and let us know.
Also, perhaps your city is undertaking other measures that are even better than the ones mentioned. If so, I’d also love to hear about that. Sharing innovative ideas is how we are going to survive until solutions are found to restore balance. Please let me know. I’ll write about them, and hopefully, others will too.
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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.
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