Uploaded on 2019-06-16

I live in Charlotte, North Caroline. According to Climate Central it is 12 degrees hotter in the city than the surrounding rural areas. There are 16 fewer days above 90 degree each year than in the rural areas. The temperature differential could be attributable to the concentrated heat island of the urban center of Charlotte; there's a rather stark divide between the industrial/urbanized heart of the city through to the suburbs around the Charlotte beltway (I-485) and the combination of building density in the urban core as compared to the far more open countryside outside the city's beltway. If I could propose any remediation ideas for the urban heat island it would be for the city of charlotte to increase the green space within the city limits (Charlotte remains near last in major urban metropolitan areas of the US for the percentage and access to green spaces within the city limits). As far as direct changes that could benefit the region the building codes in this state are lax at best - insulation and energy conservation seem like foreign concepts in most construction and the high temperatures throughout the year cause major power draws in maintaining comfortable temperatures indoors).