Review and Critical Analysis of International UHI Studies

development of future technologies – will break down the barriers e.g. glare from highly
reflective pavements; the political will and momentum of codes, standards and legislation [060].
Broadly, these studies covered a range of implementation issues but the studies examined didn’t
adequately cover the issues faced at the technical, economic or legal level. Technical barriers are
particularly relevant in highly urbanized spaces where even though the effectiveness of a
particular mitigating strategy for one urban space is high the benefits may not easily translate to
another (e.g. difficult to instigate a mass tree plantation program in the urban centre if there is no
available green space – thus this may restrict the capacity of this particular mitigation
technology). It has been suggested however, in two studies that taking a life‐cycle cost‐benefit
analysis would lead to the fully assessment of the merits of any mitigation strategy resulting in a
breakdown of the barriers faced by first cost groups [027, 060].
Further research and mass implementation of mitigation strategies will naturally result in
addressing some of these issues but as demonstrated the implementation issues faced by
different cities around the world will be varied and the tools to address such barriers are rapidly
evolving and often have global applicability. The US examples however, demonstrate that
barriers are often overcome through the implementation of voluntary schemes/programs at the
early stages which have obtained mass following and often as a result lead to mandatory
regulation.
4.7 Review for Urban Design/Planning:
4.7.1 Urban Design/Planning Principles
In summary, the industrialization and urbanization results in a loss of natural green space, an
expansion of built surfaces both above/below ground and mass concentration of population –
these all help to form the urban heat island and its well documented phenomena. In order to
address the undesirable and costly side effects, referred to in chapter 1.2, the forward planning
and strategic integration of urban heat island mitigation initiatives into the design framework can
help alleviate the UHI side‐effects. Such designs/planning can take the form of influential design
factors such as increasing the sky view factor, determining the orientation of buildings with
respect to green space and one another, building design and orientation to generate wind paths,
etc. Often influential individuals from across the policy/design/construction value chain can
influence the evolution of new/existing urban space and dictate the type of expansion or
adaptation to follow. Key stakeholders in such processes are: decision makers (e.g. the Mayor),
designers (e.g. architects), through to the construction companies. It is vital that all parties
involved are aware of their respective design or implementation impacts upon the UHI
phenomena as well as being aware of the relative merits to using UHI sensitive technologies and
designs. Clearly, such designs and planning are more effective at the early stages of urban design
i.e. when cities are being planned (pre‐build) however, designing and planning can still play a
crucial role in mitigating the urban heat island effect.
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