Uploaded on 2016-05-02 by AlessandraWeiss

**Which are the main UHI effects that you can identify in your area?** UHI effects are perhaps not as strong here as in other cities: our buildings are not very tall, Victoria city is not very large (population is approximately 80,000) and Greater Victoria (population approximately 350,000) is comprised of 13 municipalities some of which are rural. Our climate is one of the most moderate in Canada-so during the summer months if there is an increase in temperature due to UHI it may not be extremely evident. Perhaps some of the UHI effects may also be mitigated by our extensive vegetation and numerous parks as well as our proximity to the Pacific Ocean (as we are on an island). However, in Victoria we still see elements contributing to UHI effects: energy consumption in the commercial and industrial areas, impervious surfaces throughout such as surface parking lots, C02 emissions from vehicles, and dark rooftops that are absorbing heat. ![Panoramic Parkade & Rooftops][1] Photo taken from the rooftop of the Yates St. Parkade, April 30, 2016. ![Rock Bay Industrial][2] Photo taken near Rock Bay Industrial Park on a gloomy day, October 2013. Even though we have a generous tree canopy here, the rural areas still experience lower temperatures due the vast vegetation, substantially less buildings and vehicles so less energy consumption and heat generated, also more pervious surfaces for the water to infiltrate. ![Sooke Potholes][3] Photo taken at the Sooke Potholes Provincial Park, summer 2013. ******Which are the measures you would propose?****** If I could take part in the decision making process of an initiative related to the UHI effect, I would do 2 things. 1-Provide incentives for green roofs in Victoria. We have one of the best climates in Canada, are known as a garden city, can grow plants almost all year round, yet most of our rooftops downtown are asphalt and underutilized. (*However, last year a company has initiated a small rooftop agriculture movement which is a step in the right direction!) 2-Make the downtown core of Victoria strictly for pedestrians and cyclists in order to reduce emissions and improve quality of life. We have a beautiful and historic walkable downtown, where the buildings are not too high so the scale is fairly human. This would be great particularly in the summer season when the city is infiltrated by so many tourists and traffic downtown becomes congested. ![View of Johnson St.][4] Photo taken from the rooftop of the Yates St. Parkade, April 30, 2016 We know that our experience of a particular street can shift drastically when the pedestrian becomes the priority. Victoria was actually inpired by Vancouver's Car Free day and shut down a portion of one of our most important traffic corridors: Douglas St. This happened for the first time on a summer Sunday in 2015 and will be happening again this year: http://downtownvictoria.ca/carfree2015 **Is UHI effect concerning policy making in your area?** In Victoria, the one of the main concerns is maintaining and enhancing the urban forest: http://www.victoria.ca/assets/Departments/Parks~Rec~Culture/Parks/Documents/Urban%20Forest%20Master%20Plan%202013%20Final%20Approved.pdf See the document below from the municipality of Saanich (one of the core municipalities of the 13 of Greater Victoria): http://www.saanich.ca/parkrec/parks/trees/pdf/UrbanForestStrategyOctober14thDraft.pdf [1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14621649747523792.jpg [2]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/1462165060757812.jpg [3]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14621651635175339.jpg [4]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14621652793872386.jpg