Urban Heat Island Research in Phoenix, Arizona: Theoretical Contributions and Policy Applications

Chow, Winston; Brennan, Dean; Brazel, Anthony J.

doi:10.1175/bams-d-11-00011.1

Cited by 126 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 67 publications

(26 reference statements)

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“…Urban climate research completed in the Phoenix metropolitan area demonstrates that air and surface temperatures differ widely across area neighborhoods, with the greatest differences during summertime heat waves (e.g., Chow et al, 2012;Harlan, Brazel, Prashad, Stefanov, & Larsen, 2006;Hartz, Prashad, Hedquist, Golden, & Brazel, 2006;Jenerette, Harlan, Stefanov, & Martin, 2011;Middel et al, 2015). However, we demonstrate that within urban neighborhoods and small playgrounds, these surface temperatures vary significantly-and with implications for human thermal comfort and safety-at spatial scales as fine as 1 cm.…”

Section: Playground Design In Hot Climatesmentioning

confidence: 63%

“…2). This community is in the southeast valley of metropolitan Phoenix, just on the edge of Phoenix's large UHI effect (Chow, Brennan, & Brazel, 2012). Phoenix is the U.S. metropolitan area with the highest summer temperatures (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2012), averaging 74 days per year with daily maximum air temperatures at or above 40 • C. These high temperatures are shown to be associated with the highest risk for heat-related morbidity (Petitti, Hondula, Yang, Harlan, & Chowell, 2015), which can be particularly dangerous for the most socially vulnerable, low income, and isolated populations .…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Phoenix metropolitan area is among the hottest urban regions in the world, with heat amplified by one of the strongest UHIs worldwide (Chow et al, 2012). The Town of Gilbert and the neighborhood of Power Ranch possess an upper socioeconomic demographic with modern parks such as the study site playgrounds that are subject to advanced planning and safety standards.…”

Section: Playground Design In Hot Climatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hot playgrounds and children's health: A multiscale analysis of surface temperatures in Arizona, USA

Vanos

Middel

McKercher

et al. 2016

Landscape and Urban Planning

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h i g h l i g h t s• A mismatch exists between remotely sensed and in situ urban surface temperatures (T s ).• The hottest T s in a Phoenix area neighborhood were found on playground surfaces.• Children are more vulnerable to the effects of heat stress and high T s than adults.• Shade of any type is found effective in reducing T s and improving thermal safety.• Data must be collected at the touch-scale for spatially accurate high T s mitigation. a r t i c l e i n f o b s t r a c tObjectives: To provide novel quantification and advanced measurements of surface temperatures (T s ) in playgrounds, employing multiple scales of data, and provide insight into hot-hazard mitigation techniques and designs for improved environmental and public health. Methods: We conduct an analysis of T s in two Metro-Phoenix playgrounds at three scales: neighborhood (1 km resolution), microscale (6.8 m resolution), and touch-scale (1 cm resolution). Data were derived from two sources: airborne remote sensing (neighborhood and microscale) and in situ (playground site) infrared T s (touch-scale). Metrics of surface-to-air temperature deltas ( T s-a ) and scale offsets (errors) are introduced. Results: Select in situ T s in direct sunlight are shown to approach or surpass values likely to result in burns to children at touch-scales much finer than T s resolved by airborne remote sensing. Scale offsets based on neighbourhood and microscale ground observations are 3.8 • C and 7.3 • C less than the T s-a at the 1 cm touch-scale, respectively, and 6.6 • C and 10.1 • C lower than touch-scale playground equipment T s , respectively. Hence, the coarser scales underestimate high T s within playgrounds. Both natural (tree) and artificial (shade sail) shade types are associated with significant reductions in T s . Conclusions: A scale mismatch exists based on differing methods of urban T s measurement. The sub-meter touch-scale is the spatial scale at which data must be collected and policies of urban landscape design and health must be executed in order to mitigate high T s in high-contact environments such as playgrounds. Shade implementation is the most promising mitigation technique to reduce child burns, increase park usability, and mitigate urban heating.

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Section: Playground Design In Hot Climatesmentioning

confidence: 63%

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Playground Design In Hot Climatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hot playgrounds and children's health: A multiscale analysis of surface temperatures in Arizona, USA

Vanos

Middel

McKercher

et al. 2016

Landscape and Urban Planning

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“…The Phoenix, AZ USA metropolitan region (population 4.3 million) is a well-studied model system that has been useful for learning about many aspects of urban ecology and climate (Grimm and Redman 2004;Chow et al 2012). This metropolis has a hot, subtropical desert climate (Koppen classification BWh) and features substantial variation in vegetation and built surfaces associated with residential dwellings.…”

Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Micro-scale urban surface temperatures are related to land-cover features and residential heat related health impacts in Phoenix, AZ USA

et al. 2015

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Context With rapidly expanding urban regions, the effects of land cover changes on urban surface temperatures and the consequences of these changes for human health are becoming progressively larger problems. Objectives We investigated residential parcel and neighborhood scale variations in urban land surface temperature, land cover, and residents' perceptions of landscapes and heat illnesses in the subtropical desert city of Phoenix, AZ USA. MethodsWe conducted an airborne imaging campaign that acquired high resolution urban land surface temperature data (7 m/pixel) during the day and night. We performed a geographic overlay of these data with high resolution land cover maps, parcel boundaries, neighborhood boundaries, and a household survey. Results Land cover composition, including percentages of vegetated, building, and road areas, and values for NDVI, and albedo, was correlated with residential parcel surface temperatures and the effects differed between day and night. Vegetation was more effective at cooling hotter neighborhoods. We found -015-0284-3 consistencies between heat risk factors in neighborhood environments and residents' perceptions of these factors. Symptoms of heat-related illness were correlated with parcel scale surface temperature patterns during the daytime but no corresponding relationship was observed with nighttime surface temperatures. Conclusions Residents' experiences of heat vulnerability were related to the daytime land surface thermal environment, which is influenced by micro-scale variation in land cover composition. These results provide a first look at parcel-scale causes and consequences of urban surface temperature variation and provide a critically needed perspective on heat vulnerability assessment studies conducted at much coarser scales.Landscape Ecol (2016) 31:745-760 DOI 10.1007/s10980

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“…Whereas depending on the actual environmental temperature used (e.g. surface vs. atmospheric temperature, or radiant vs. sheltered temperature), UHI intensity can be sub-categorized, such as atmospheric, surface, or subsurface ones, the latter two being much less investigated [72]. As nonlinearity presents in the relationship between surface and air temperatures, it is anticipated that the resulted UHI intensities defined by different measures show different trends.…”

Section: Urban Heat Island Intensitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental impacts of reflective materials: Is high albedo a ‘silver bullet’ for mitigating urban heat island?

Yang

Wang

Kaloush

2015

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

196

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Studies on urban heat island (UHI) have been more than a century after the phenomenon was first discovered in the early 1800s. UHI emerges as the source of many urban environmental problems and exacerbates the living environment in cities. Under the challenges of increasing urbanization and future climate changes, there is a pressing need for sustainable adaptation/mitigation strategies for UHI effects, one popular option being the use of reflective materials. While it is introduced as one effective method to reduce temperature and energy consumption in cities, its impacts on multi-dimensional environmental sustainability and large-scale non-local effect are inadequately explored. This paper provides a synthetic overview of potential environmental impacts of reflective materials at a variety of scales, ranging from energy load on a single building to regional hydroclimate. The review shows that mitigation potential of reflective materials depends on a portfolio of factors, including building characteristics, urban environment, meteorological and geographical conditions, to name a few.Precaution needs to be exercised by city planners and policy makers for large-scale deployment of reflective materials before their environmental impacts, especially on regional hydroclimates, are better understood. In general, it is recommended that optimal strategy for UHI needs to be determined on a city-by-city basis, rather than adopting a "one-solution-fits-all" strategy.

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Urban Heat Island Research in Phoenix, Arizona: Theoretical Contributions and Policy Applications

Abstract: The prodigious volume of applied and interdisciplinary heat island research in Phoenix, Arizona, was motivated by several factors intrinsic to the city and has contributed to formation of municipal policies geared toward sustainable urban climates.

Cited by 126 publications

References 67 publications

Hot playgrounds and children's health: A multiscale analysis of surface temperatures in Arizona, USA

Hot playgrounds and children's health: A multiscale analysis of surface temperatures in Arizona, USA

Micro-scale urban surface temperatures are related to land-cover features and residential heat related health impacts in Phoenix, AZ USA

Environmental impacts of reflective materials: Is high albedo a ‘silver bullet’ for mitigating urban heat island?

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