Uploaded on 2015-10-18 by BradleyJG

![enter image description here][1] I do not live in a city, but I work in one. The picture is of part of the campus of our local college. There has been a construction boom at the college and vast areas have been 'improved' with wide concrete walkways and sealed buildings that require air conditioning, because the windows cannot be opened for natural ventilation. Acres of flat roof space creates heat. Most parking areas lack shade, so add to the heat island effect. Walking across the concrete and asphalt surfaces can sometimes feel like walking through an oven. The college can be seen as a microcosm of the town, where vast tracts are paved over, with too few green spaces. Part of the city can be seen in the background of the surrounding land image. Few of the city structures are over two stories in height. ![enter image description here][2] The area surrounding the city is arable land. Ocean breezes blow onshore, across the river flood plain, keeping the air cooler and more pleasant. Occasionally, the winds come from the East. These high speed, Santa Ana winds, are hot and dry. If I could take part in the decision making process I would suggest a combination of green roofs and solar roofs. Where large parking areas are set aside, there is no reason that shade in the form of solar module canopies could not be economically viable, or trees. Encouraging the creation of space around the buildings where greenery can be encouraged to grow up to shelter the walls and combat reflectivity. Urban heat island effect does not appear to be a high priority in our local area. I spoke to an architect that presented a design for a new campus building and asked why solar panels were not included in the design. I was told, quite snappishly, that "none of the other buildings had it." This appears to be a common mentality when asking about anything to do with sustainability. Combating urban heat island effect is largely down to the efforts of individuals and a few corporate entities. The local Mace's store has placed a substantial number of solar modules on their roof. [1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14452095281516191.jpg [2]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14452095746570097.jpg