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CAD 157 - Downtown (Grede) Introduction to Site Development Drafting and Design: Urban Heat Islands & Trees

Urban Heat Islands

Overview

Learn About Heat Islands (A)

  • From the EPA (Environmental Protectjon Agency
  • A good introductory page
  • Definitions, causes, characteristics, impacts, reduction

VibrantCities Lab (A+)

  • A website devoted to urban forestry: methods and effects
  • Briefly summarizes studies that endorse using trees in urban area.
  • Explore it.

Heat Island Effect (B)

  • From the EPA (Environmental Protectjon Agency
  • Mainly links to other pages under Learn, Plan, and Act.

Solutions

Reduce Urban Heat Island Effect (B+)

  • From the EPA (Environmental Protectjon Agency
  • A list of proposed solutions, with some links
  • A list of linked resources

Using Trees and Vegetation to Reduce Heat Islands (B+)

  • From the EPA
  • A short page on how and why.

VibrantCities Lab (A+)

  • A website devoted to urban forestry: methods and effects
  • Briefly summarizes studies that endorse using trees in urban area.
  • Explore it.

A cool idea for low-income urban areas hard hit by warming climate: More trees (B+)

  • From the Washington Post, July 12, 2021
  • Describes projects and equity effects

Summer in the City Is Hot, but
Some Neighborhoods Suffer More
 
(B+)

  • From The New York Times (limited access)
  • Compares 5 cities, including Abuquerque. Heat maps, and what cities are doing.

 

Cities often experience stronger urban heat island effects at night (B)

  • Infographic linked from Wikipedia's article
  • Differences in night and day, including with mountains
  • Describes an academic study

Tucson

Tucson's south side gets hotter than other parts of city, and not just because of elevation (A)

  • From the Arizona Daily Star April 5, 2021

Steller column: 2 million new trees for Tucson? We need a hardy plan (B+)

  • From 2019, but it lays out some of the issues

 

OPINION: Warming climate means Tucson needs more trees, may have less water for them (A-)

  • 2021 Editorial from the Arizona Daily Star
  • Covers the issue of how much water will be needed.