Uploaded on 2015-11-30 by LukasVician

2. The most reliable data and information for my own place of residence that I can provide is a study of L.W.A. van Hove and other called "Exploring The Urban Heat Island Intensity Of Dutch Cities", available at: <http://www.met.wau.nl/medewerkers/steeneveld/Hove_etal_CityWeathers-2011.pdf>. This is the document to which I would like to draw your attention if interested. The study focuses on Rotterdam and Rotterdam-The Hague Airport and its surroundings, but we can draw similarities from that when discussing The Hague. I will not rephrase what is written there as it is not a long read. Moreover, again due to my inability to take pictures, please find attached two of them to describe the difference between The Hague and some rural area closeby. The first one from <http://www.nltimes.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Het_Plein_2012.jpg> depicts the city of The Hague, with many buildings, business district, public transport, and vast amounts of people all day long. On the other hand, the second picture from <http://www.horeca-lvs.nl/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/driemolens.jpg> depicts an area just outside of the metropolitan area of The Hague, i.e. the area of Stompwijk. It shows how surrounding rural areas are completely different from the city center and therefore how these contribute to the UHI. Less public transportation, less cars, less infrastructure, less people, and many more green areas in Stompwijk are the reason why UHI is built in The Hague, but less in Stompwijk. 3. If I could take part in the decision making process of an initiative related to the UHI effect in the Dutch cities, in order to reduce it and provide a more livable environment to the citizens, I would start by basic techniques and try to reverse the trend of dark surfaces in the city which increase the UHI. Urban planners may do this by painting structures with light colours. Low-reflectivity coating offers an alternative if white colours do not look particularly good, which I agree with. Another possibilities lie in installing "green roofs" on top of buildings, which simply means that a roof includes plants and vegetation. This would decrease the UHI and would bring various other benefits to the citizens. 4. I currently do not know of any relevant policies in or around The Hague that are planned to reduce the UHI effect, neither do I see any visible results. However, this is also due to the fact that I personally do not see that a city would be feelingly hotter than its rural surroundings. That is why I take this week as a great lecture for me as I can now integrate this knowledge to my career plans with architecture and city planning. Lukas Vician