In mid-July Climate Central reported that Boston is among the major U.S. cities experiencing the worst urban heat island (UHI) effects – we are No. 6 between San Francisco and Chicago, and Boston can be as much as 7.24 degrees hotter than surrounding areas. As members of the ULI Boston/New England reported in “Living with Heat,” the urban heat islands (UHIs) can have detrimental impacts on public health, quality of life and productivity, but there are solutions.
Cities like Boston were built for the climate of the past utilizing materials like brick and concrete which have a high thermal mass, absorbing heat during the day and retaining it through the night. New building materials, more energy efficiency and more robust green infrastructure can help alleviate some of the worst heat disparities.
One of the most effective tools for combatting UHIs is to follow in the footsteps of famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and use “green infrastructure” to both decrease temperatures and increase quality of life. Created to carry polluted waters out of the neighborhood, the Back Bay Fens, along with other significant parks in the Emerald Necklace, also provides respite from city heat.
Public transportation stops should be designed with shade covers and even misters and water-bottle fillers. New concepts like cooling corridors should be explored, where paved streets are partially or wholly replaced by greenways with tree canopy.
Retrofitting older housing stock to standards closer to new construction can increase energy efficiency and make the use of indoor air conditioning less wasteful.
Making the city and individual properties greener and cooler will increase quality of life as well as property values, making these improvements well worth the investment. Like any complex issue, there is not one single solution to the problem of UHIs, but if communities and developers prioritize alleviating heat, we may be able to avoid the worst outcomes of extreme heat.
— Michelle Landers is the executive director of ULI Boston/New England.
