Healthy city versus the urban heat island effect in the context of global warming. Passive and active methods reduction of UHI

Abstract

As people become more environmentally aware they tend to pay greater attention to the quality of the environment when choosing a place to live. Given the ongoing and projected depopulation, in order to retain current residents and attract new ones, many Polish cities are taking actions aimed at shaping a healthy urban environment. Regardless of the causes of global warming, the effects of climate change are indisputable and we need to adapt to them. This impact is particularly high in the urban environment due to population density and land use. The worldwide increase in temperature and the number of hot days caused by global warming is further exacerbated by unfavorable processes that take place in urban areas, such as the urban heat island effect (UHI). In combination with global warming an urban heat island poses a direct threat to people by putting them at risk of heat stress. Children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable to heatstroke. The paper explores on the global and local factors that affect the thermal conditions in a city and consequently threaten the health and life of its inhabitants. The aim of the research is to identify factors contributing to the formation of an urban heat island. The results of studies were used to identify methods of risk mitigation and to evaluate their efficacy. The author divides the methods of preventing and limiting the urban heat island effect into passive and active solutions.