NVR #4

How to combat Urban Heat Island effect

‘Heat island is the most documented phenomenon of climate change’1 states Santamouris,
boldly highlighting why it is therefore the one effect we are desperately trying to mitigate
within our cities. Due to the rapid expansion of our global cities and the means to
accommodate the increasing population within them, more and more natural land is
replaced with dense concentrations of pavement, buildings, and other surfaces. The urban
heat island effect (UHI) is a consequence of these material surfaces absorbing and retaining
heat, as well as the lack of green spaces and air circulation in urban canyons. The result of
this includes the increase in air pollution levels and energy costs, the deterioration of
comfort conditions and the rise in heat-related illness/premature deaths. The article given
lists off ways in which increasing the cover of green areas and trees within a city is the most
successful way of combating these consequences of the UHI effect. I will discuss if this is the
only successful strategy or if there are others just as impactful by comparing and discussing
another approach.

Increasing the green areas and tree cover of a city is not the only strategy for the mitigation
of UHI, Science Directs article describes that the increasing of albedo within a city is just as
important in combating the UHI. Applying cool or reflective roofs can significantly lower the
surface temperature of the top of buildings, therefore decreasing the atmospheric heat
temperature of the city.2 If applied to enough roof coverage this strategy can be just as
effective as the application of green or living roofs. In the 2008 Design for London article, it
is estimated that ‘24,000 hectares of buildings (and therefore roofs) cover Greater London’ 3
highlighting that the roof scape of a city acts as an excellent available space to apply
mitigation techniques. Cool or reflective roofs are made usually by making the roof white or
applying materials with a high reflectivity value, both creating a high albedo. New York is an
example of a city which ‘has recently coated more than 10 million sq ft of rooftops white’ 4
states the 2019 BBC News article. Further explaining that the application of a clean white
roof can reflect 80% of sunlight keeping the surface around 31C cooler.

In conclusion, I agree with the article and after reading it, increasing green spaces and
adding tree coverage to a city is an effective way of tackling the rising temperature but the
facts mentioned above mean that cool or reflective roofing can also greatly help to combat
the UHI effect and so overall both strategies should be implemented.

1
Santamouris, M. ‘Cooling the cities – A review of reflective and green roof mitigation technologies to fight
heat island and improve comfort in urban environments’. (2014)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0038092X12002447
2
Ibid
3
Design For London. Technical report, the Greater London Authority’s London Plan. (2008)
https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/living-roofs.pdf
4
BBC News. ‘How much can painting a roof white reduce its temperature?’. News Article. (2019)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-48395221#:~:text=The%20city%20of%20New%20York,important%20way
%20to%20save%20energy.