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URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT BLACKWELL & associates - landscape architects & urban designers PROPOSITION 2 . 0000022476 00000 n
The UHI effect, where air and surface temperatures are significantly higher than in rural areas, is largely the result of a shift away from natural, vegetated landscapes to urbanised spaces.That cities absorb and release more heat than country areas has been known for over a century, but only recently have we come to understand its dire consequences – contribution to extreme weather events, demand on utilities and increased mortality during heatwaves – and sought ways to mitigate it.“Urban Heat Island is the most documented phenomenon of climate change,” UNSW High Performance Architecture professor and lead researcher of the Cooling Western Sydney study Mattheos Santamouris said. 0000000933 00000 n
URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT BLACKWELL & associates - landscape architects & … Urban areas become significantly warmer than surrounding areas when there is less green cover and more hard surfaces which absorb, store and radiate heat. 0000003409 00000 n
Use water as a feature that people can interact with. Cooling our cities requires new (and old) thinking about designing with water.Lake Parramatta is a place for public water-based recreation. 0000006492 00000 n
Heat Island Impacts . 0000007204 00000 n
Bonus points are available for landscapes irrigated by harvested rainwater, and a simple calculation tool is provided. sums up the picture for Australia as a whole: ‘Record hot days’ have more than doubled between 1960 and 2010, and ‘hot days’ (temperatures over 35 degrees) have increased by 27% over a similar period.The effects of extreme heat are intensified in cities, where the urban heat island effect drives temperatures even higher than surrounding rural and natural landscapes. They state that “The number of days over 35 degrees in Western Sydney has increased by 250% since 1965 (compared with 22% in Central Sydney).Extreme heat has serious public health impacts. Virtually every city experiences an urban heat island effect, or the phenomenon in which cities are warmer than their rural surroundings. 0000022085 00000 n
A recent study led by found that under 2 degrees of global warming, cities like Melbourne and Sydney would experience temperature rises closer to 4 degrees above average, and temperatures as high as 50 degrees could occur during summer heat waves.In Sydney, the increasing number of hot days has been particularly pronounced in Western Sydney.
And it even pays for the cost of water.“The message we’re trying to get across is don’t use more but be smarter in where and when you use your water.”Domestically, Ingleton recommended increasing education on how houses work, such as growing gardens near air conditioning units and windows, watering grass after work and opening windows, and irrigating at night ahead of hot weather conditions.“A recent report suggests that extreme heat is Australia’s deadliest form of natural disaster, and is responsible for more deaths than cyclones, floods and bushfires combined,” explained Sydney Water Research Direction and Value Manager Dr Michael Storey.and presents a wide array of socio-economic challenges,” Dr Storey said. Cooling Western Sydney | 7 0000002839 00000 n
Energy saving guidelines, similar to those that apply to all new buildings in Australia, such as NatHERS, NABERS, BASIX, should be developed for streetscapes based on aiming to reduce temperatures in urban areas by 5 degrees.
The remaining districts are much lower, with the total tree canopy cover of the urban area in greater Sydney just 21 per cent in 2016.
The Urban Heat Island Effect (UHI) is a local climate change phenomenon whereby urban areas present higher air temperatures than their rural proximities. The only part of Sydney with high canopy cover is the north, with 40 per cent canopy cover and just 2 per cent of residents exposed to high urban heat.
These systems won’t help mitigate urban heat.A focus on cooling in urban landscapes is a chance to redefine the practice of WSUD and restore its original intentions to encourage less runoff and more infiltration, more evapotranspiration.
Parramatta City Council’s ‘’ website highlights cool places in the area, including free places such as libraries, water playgrounds and waterways.It can be tempting to leave this territory to the technical experts, however our cities are in urgent need of practical solutions, which can be applied widely and cost-effectively. A city's high building density and paved surfaces cause it to retain more heat than open, natural areas. 0