Uploaded on 2017-01-25 by Melissa Wrapp

I had no concept of the urban heat island growing up in Phoenix because I just assumed everywhere you go is hot! But urban areas in Phoenix are up to 21˚ hotter than in rural areas. Summers are an average of 3.2˚ hotter in cities, which also experience more than five days more above 90˚F than rural areas each year. This has implications for heat stress, stress to the electricity grid, and ground level ozone levels. If I could propose measures to address the urban heat island, I would suggest creating more covered walkways and areas with "misters" to help encourage activity during the hotter months. I would also create more green spaces and plant more trees downtown, which can be a bit spartan in areas. Gilbert, a local town, has introduced policies encouraging the use of "cool pavements"- materials that reduce the absorption and emittance of solar heat- to address the heat island problem.