Abstract
We utilized city-scale simulations to quantitatively compare the diverse urban overheating mitigation strategies, specifically tied to social vulnerability and their cooling efficacies during heatwaves. We enhanced the Weather Research and Forecasting model to encompass the urban tree effect and calculate the Universal Thermal Climate Index for assessing thermal comfort. Taking Houston, Texas, and United States as an example, the study reveals that equitably mitigating urban overheat is achievable by considering the city's demographic composition and physical structure. the study results show that while urban trees may yield less cooling impact (0.27 K of Universal Thermal Climate Index in daytime) relative to cool roofs (0.30 K), the urban trees strategy can emerge as an effective approach for enhancing community resilience in heat stress-related outcomes. Social vulnerability-Based heat mitigation was reviewed as vulnerability-weighted daily cumulative heat stress change. the results underscore: (i) importance of considering the community resilience when evaluating heat mitigation impact and (ii) the need to assess planting spaces for urban trees, rooftop areas, and neighborhood vulnerability when designing community-oriented urban overheating mitigation strategies.
Recommended Citation
K. Y. Fung et al., "Prioritizing Social Vulnerability in Urban Heat Mitigation," PNAS Nexus, vol. 3, no. 9, article no. pgae360, Oxford University Press; National Academy of Sciences, Sep 2024.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae360
Department(s)
Biological Sciences
Publication Status
Open Access
Keywords and Phrases
heat waves; social vulnerability; urban overheat mitigation; urban trees; Weather Research and Forecasting model
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
2752-6542
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Final Version
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2025 Oxford University Press; National Academy of Sciences, All rights reserved.
Creative Commons Licensing
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Publication Date
01 Sep 2024
Comments
University of Texas at Austin, Grant 80NSSC22K1675