FLL Research ProjectClimate Issue: Urban Heat IslandsAn Urban Heat Island is the name given to describe the characteristic warmth of both the atmosphere and surfaces in cities (urban areas) compared to their (non-urbanized) surroundings. The heat island is an example of unintentional climate modification when urbanization changes the characteristics of the Earth's surface and atmosphere. Picture Showing Urban Heat Island Effect
Heat Island Facts
How This Hurts People
Solutions for Heat Islands That Already Exist
Brainstorming a SolutionOur team gathered and we came with these solutions: Simon came up with solar powered wind mills (if we put them to the West of town they would blow the hot air away like ocean breezes do for towns on the coast). Max kept saying we should all plant trees. Other ideas were to go with: porous pavement, cool pavement, green roofs (or walls), or planting trees and plants. Dr. James VoogtDr.Voogt is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Western Ontario in Canada. He says "My academic training is in physical geography and boundary layer climatology and meteorology. My current research combines surface and boundary layer meteorology and climatology with remote sensing and GIS. It focuses on the importance of the surface." We got a lot of our information from his web sites. He agreed to email back and forth with us and help us with our questions. The Email to Dr. VoogtFor the email to Dr. Voogt we all wrote down our questions and then Kaisa and Deja sent him the email. Our questions were: 1) The solutions seem to be porous pavement, cool pavement, green roofs, planting trees and plants, and using less energy. 2) If we could only do one which would make the biggest difference? 3) Would solar powered windmills work to blow heat away from the city like ocean breeze heat from the coast? 4) If everyone planted a tree which kind of tree would be best for the urban area? 5) Are there any cities where something has been done and it worked? 6) What are those cities and how did they know it worked? The Best Choice is Planting TreesThe reason that he made this choice is that for many cities plants provide multiple benefits, not just reduction of air temperature. Trees and plants typically reduce daytime air temperature because some of the energy they receive is used to transpire water, rather than heating the air. They also create shade which can be important for cooling surfaces or building in a city. Other advantages of trees and plants are to filter the air of some pollution particles, and providing habitat for other animals, or acting as source of food (for some plants). Trees and plants can also provide important benefits in cities where there is a cold winter and warm summer. Trees that lose their leaves can allow buildings to receive sunlight in the winter when they need it to offset heating costs. Evergreen trees can be used as windbreaks to help reduce the heat lose from cold northerly winds.
Cincinnati has a Climate Protection Action Plan
Cincinnati has a "Climate Protection Action Plan" called the "Green Cincinnati Plan". So far they are wanting to offer grants and loans to people and businesses that want to install green roofs. They also plan to plant more trees in the city. This plan is a proposal. They recommend a lot of other things that are environmentally friendly. The news articles we found said that Cincinnati would like to become a leader in green roofs. You can find the plan on their web site if you really look for it. You can see the actual plan at: http://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/cmgr/downloads/cmgr_pdf18280.pdf
How Chicago Reduces Urban Heat Island EffectChicago has an official plan in place to reduce the Urban Heat Island Effect. The information below is from their web site. Reducing the Urban Heat Island Effect There are two main ways to reduce the Urban Heat Island effect: replace dark-colored surfaces (such as black tar roofs and asphalt parking lots) with light-colored surfaces, and increase vegetation. Light-colored roofs and paving materials reflect light and heat, making the surrounding area cooler than when dark-colored roofs and paving are used. Adding vegetation to an urban area helps clean and cool the air, and trees can be located to shade asphalt roads and parking lots. The City of Chicago has used these strategies in a variety of ways to reduce the Urban Heat Island effect. Projects include the rooftop garden on City Hall, a permeable and reflective alley on the North Side, miles of median planters and many campus parks that transform asphalt parking lots around public schools into parks. The City of Chicago also uses green building technologies and practices in all of its public building projects. Additionally, Chicago has enacted legislation to require landscaping around parking lots and require more energy-efficient building practices. What You Can Do to Reduce the Urban Heat Island Effect Consider using light-colored, reflective materials when repairing or replacing the roof on your building. If you are building or repairing a driveway, consider using concrete or other reflective materials. Plant trees on your property to increase the shading of buildings and parking lots, and increase the amount of vegetation overall, if possible. Use rain gardens and other storm water management techniques to capture rainwater on your property, so that it is absorbed into the ground instead of diverted into the sewer system; doing so will increase the amount of moisture in the air, providing cooling. This information came from: http://egov.cityofchicago.org/ Our Solution - Porous Parking Lots and TreesWe wanted to choose the one thing that would make the most difference. We chose to:Replace asphalt parking lots with porous parking lots, and to plant trees in the parking lots using silva cells to keep the ground from becoming compacted
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