Abstract
Urban heat is a growing environmental concern in cities around the world. The urban heat island effect, combined with warming effects of climate change, is likely to cause an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events. Alterations to the physical, built environment are a viable option for mitigating urban heat, yet few studies provide systematic guidance to practitioners for adapting diverse land uses. In this study, we examine the use of green infrastructure treatments to evaluate changes in ambient temperatures across diverse land uses in the city of Portland, Oregon. We apply ENVI-met® microclimate modeling at the city-block scale specifically to determine what built environment characteristics are most associated with high temperatures, and the extent to which different physical designs reduce ambient temperature. The analysis included six green infrastructure interventions modeled across six different land-use types, and indicated the varying degrees to which approaches are effective. Results were inconsistent across landscapes, and showed that one mitigation solution alone would not significantly reduce extreme heat. These results can be used to develop targeted, climate- and landscape-specific cooling interventions for different land uses, which can help to inform and refine current guidance to achieve urban climate adaptation goals.
Highlights
Across the planet, both natural and modified ecosystems are in the grip of climate change, subject to dramatic shifts in weather patterns, resource availability, and global temperature
A map of all clusters was developed to identify potential locations of interest to this study; final site selections are marked with black dots and labeled on the map (Figure 3)
There is considerable mixing of cluster types across the city, for the purpose of modeling scenarios we sought out study sites that contain primarily one cluster type
Summary
Both natural and modified ecosystems are in the grip of climate change, subject to dramatic shifts in weather patterns, resource availability, and global temperature. Among the many pressing concerns related to climate change is a surge in powerful, long-lasting heat waves, a phenomenon that is projected to intensify in the future [1,2]. While some areas experience more intense heat than others, this is a widespread issue; for example, cities all across the United States are projected to see an increase in the number of extremely hot days over this century [3]. Considering the current and expected future influence of extreme heat on public health, social welfare and urban resilience, local decision makers have a duty to identify and mitigate sources of excess heat within their cities. Urban areas are uniquely susceptible to extreme heat events, owing to a phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect (UHI) [13]. Cityscapes are Atmosphere 2019, 10, 282; doi:10.3390/atmos10050282 www.mdpi.com/journal/atmosphere
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