Uploaded on 2015-11-29 by nimedi

Interesting report and nice visualization of the results. Detroit is up to 22 degrees, Denver even 23 degrees hotter than the surrounding rural areas. Las Vegas in the desert reaches a max of 24 degrees in comparison to nearby rural areas. **2. Which are the main UHI effects that you can identify in your area?** I can't find any data for my city. There is a report about heat island effect for the region but it doesn't mention how large the temperature difference is. It just shows that the inner-city of Suwon has the highest risk for urban heat island effect. Still, the urban heat island is relatively small in scale as it covers less than a couple of neighborhoods. My neighborhood wasn't even included in the report because it is a new area of Suwon. I live on the outskirts at the foot of a mountain and thus, I don't believe that the UHI effect exists here. My neighborhood is very green and directly behind my apartment: ![Mountain behind house reducing UHI effect][1] Streams from the mountain pass through our area: ![Streams run through my neighborhood][2] Throughout the year the temperature in our neighborhood feels lower than the temperature of an adjacent district. The adjacent district is more urban, has more traffic on wide streets and is larger in general. A main road passing through that area looks like this: ![Urban area with UHI effect][3] I can feel the temperature difference if I come back from Seoul or the adjacent district. Our neighborhood is always cooler. That makes it more comfortable in the summer but also more difficult in the winter. **3. Which are the measures you would propose?** Vegetation exists but it is still very young and so the positive influence is limited. I would like to see a green strip in the center of the street in the adjacent neighborhood. It would lower the temperature and improve air quality. The lecture of that week introduced also that the building structure influences the local micro-climate. In the future more buildings will be constructed in our neighborhood. I would like to see that Suwon runs simulations on wind streams and effects on the micro-climate. Such a measure could influence the building style and keep the UHI effect low. **4. Is UHI effect concerning policy making in your area?** In the document about urban heat island effects the city Suwon planned measures for my area: A main policy is to promote green rooftops. They have done an examination of rooftops and found out that many are underutilized. Rooftops could be easily transformed to include gardens and some vegetation. However, there aren't yet any results available. I believe that policy is still in preparation and the type of enforcement (initiatives etc.) is still undecided. [1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14487956187316557.jpg [2]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14487956617286288.jpg [3]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14487957255437775.jpg