Urban Heat Island

Cities consistently experience higher temperatures than the surrounding countryside due to the 'heat island' effect. With global warming exacerbating these effects, cities are trying to lower local contributors to urban heat.

September 12, 2012 - NPR

With the number of days of 'extreme heat' on the rise, and dramatic increases projected, will global warming melt the Golden State?

September 8, 2012 - Grist

Ben Welle discusses the benefits of freeway removal programs both at home and abroad, and explores what cities have done to fill the void they leave behind.

April 11, 2012 - The City Fix

A recent study published by researchers at Stanford University shows how the heat island effect has little bearing on global warming and how painting roofs white actually may increase temperatures, writes David Malakoff for The Guardian.

November 3, 2011 - The Guardian

As oil prices rise, so does the cost of asphalt. Concrete, historically more expensive, is now becoming a viable cost competitor. Because of its lighter shade, its also been shown to contribute less to climate change.

July 9, 2009 - The Infrastructurist

White roofs have gained cachet as a solution to the urban heat island effect. But in places where there are more cold days than hot, a white roof that reflects warming sunlight might not make the best sense, according to this piece.

May 20, 2009 - Miller-McCune

Fighting global warming could be as simple as a paint job -- a global, sun-reflecting, white-wash paint job, according to scientist Hashem Akbari.

January 28, 2009 - Guardian

In the current issue of Housing Policy Debate, Reid Ewing and Fang Rong argue that sprawling urban form contributes to higher residential energy use. Two responses -- one from Samuel Staley and another by John Randolph -- rebut the paper.

May 1, 2008 - Housing Policy Debate