【8】Cool the city without using more energy

It is possible to control the thermal comfort of smaller spaces, without using more energy. This is not just about reducing the absolute temperature, it’s also about making people feel comfortable.

The experience of temperature is controlled by both personal and environmental factors. Combinations of air temperature, wind, humidity and radiated heat will change the feeling, or apparent temperature, of the weather.

We can create spaces with optimum comfort levels through a combination of shading, reduced heat build up in materials, humidity and wind management. Rather than trying to change the temperature of the whole city, we can provide heat refuges at street level to make the city more functional on hot days.

We know that a comprehensive toolkit is needed to understand how we can cool the city in different places. Trees and greening are important but aren’t practical everywhere, and certainly not when they are used in isolation.Designs that also include redirecting wind, controlling humidity and water and that consider thermal qualities of materials are necessary.