Urban Cooling Toolbox

More than half of the world’s population lives in cities today, and the urban population is expected to grow to about 68% by 2050. This fact alone puts a strain on our urban environment. Additionally, climate change is already affecting cities around the world and is provoking new planning and design pathways to adapt to this changing urban environment.

Especially, the projected rise in temperatures and the frequency of extreme heat events are impacting urban planning scenarios. The number of cities exposed to extreme temperatures will nearly triple over the next decades. By 2050, more than 970 cities will experience average summertime temperature highs of 35˚C (95°F).

This increase in extreme heat puts pressure on essential services in cities, such as energy, water, and transport, and also has critical implications on the overall health and well-being of citizens. Extreme heat in cities is often exacerbated by the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. The UHI effect describes the phenomenon where an urban area is significantly warmer than the surrounding lands due to an increased fraction of paved surfaces in cities, lack of vegetation, and generated heat from urban activity.

Mitigating the UHI effect and creating comfortable and safe public spaces year-round is one of the primary components when designing sustainable and resilient communities.

In 2019, as part of the Copenhagen Urban Lab hosted by Ramboll, a diverse team of experts from across the world was tasked with developing an urban comfort strategy for a case area in Copenhagen. As part of the Lab, the participants also developed this Toolbox.

Subsequently, C40 Cities and Ramboll collectively expanded and finalized the Toolbox to make it available to the public. The different cards of the Toolbox are designed to inspire municipalities, designers, planners, administrators, and users to think about the multitude of options available for adapting to extreme heat in cities and improving urban comfort.

We would like to extend our gratitude to all who have contributed to the development of the Toolbox. We hope that the Toolbox will assist cities in creating more livable and resilient communities.

Source:

https://adaptecca.es/sites/default/files/documentos/c40_cities_2021_urban_cooling_toolbox.pdf