Some cities are taking steps to combat what's referred to as the urban heat island effect.

Phoenix

The urban heat island effect in Phoenix is driven by the widespread use of heat-absorbing materials like asphalt, concrete, and rooftops, which store solar radiation and release it at night. Additional heat is generated by cars, air-conditioning units, and manufacturing processes, further elevating urban temperatures.

To counteract this, strategies such as increasing vegetation, planting trees, and using reflective roofing materials are being implemented. Phoenix's community canopy tree program, which began in 2023, has planted nearly 1,700 trees in areas with low canopy coverage and recently received significant funding to expand its efforts. Experts emphasize the importance of localized solutions, as temperature differences can vary significantly even within small neighborhoods.

The urban heat island effect explained

heat rises from the street on a hot summer day. As we all know it's super hot in Phoenix we need more shade. The design of cities and neighborhoods in the valley having a huge impact on the urban heat island effect. The biggest contributors is the widespread use of heat absorbing materials such as asphalt concrete and rooftops and these surfaces soak up solar radiation during the day and then slowly release release it at night. Another big contributor heat generating sources. Cars air-conditioning units manufacturing processes all of these things release heat into the urban environment and that further increases temperature. Dr. Arianne Medel started studying heat after she moved to Phoenix from Germany. So if we want to protect people from the heat and design effective interventions we need to zoom in and understand heat at the human scale where people actually live walk or wait for the bus or play in a park. Realizing there isn't a one-size-fits-all fix for urban heat islands. Increasing vegetation trees green roofs parks trees provide shade but they also cool the air. Building a toolbox of strategies can help reduce the impact. The City of Phoenix's community canopy tree program started back in 2023. Planting nearly 1,700 trees around Phoenix. More shade throughout low canopied areas especially areas like South Phoenix, Maryvale, Sunny Slope, I-17 Corridor the areas with the lowest tree canopy coverage. The program just received ten million dollars to continue to create cooler microclimates around the city. Provides a beautiful environment it provides shade provides better air quality there's so many different benefits. Another strategy is to use high reflective materials for roofs. These materials reflect more sunlight and absorb less heat which helps keep surfaces and air temperatures lower. When it comes to understanding urban heat island effect Dr. Middle believes it goes beyond the traditional definition. There are pockets or hot spots that can be much hotter than others sometimes by several degrees and these micro urban heat islands can exist at the scale of a single block or neighborhood. Ashley DiMartino Scripps News Group

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Breakdown