Tag Archives: Urban Heat Island

May 2014: A new Arup study Cities Alive – rethinking green infrastructure – “shows how the creation of a linked ‘city ecosystem’ that encompasses parks and open spaces; urban trees, streets, squares; woodland and waterways can help create healthier, safer and more prosperous cities. To realise this vision, green infrastructure has to now take a more influential role in the planning and design of cities and urban environments.”

A number of London green infrastructure initiatives are touched on including:

• The new Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park; which forms part of,
• Plans for an All London Green Grid
• The High Line for London competition which encouraged ideas for new green infrastructure in London
• The New London Landscape project
• The Mayor of London’s 100 Pocket Parks project (further details on GLA press release and on the Project Dirt website
• the Bankside Urban Forest
• The Greater London i-Tree project led by the Forestry Commission and the Greater London Authority, to be launched in 2014, undertakng an assessment of London’s urban forests.

The report also looks at how green infrastructure can help cities adapt to increasing temperatures as a result of climate change. All in all an interesting read!

June 2012: The Clean Energy Solutions Center (cleanenergysolutions.org) is hosting a series of free webinars including one entitled ‘Global Cool Cities: Tools for Cooling Urban Heat Islands’. Chapter 5 of London’s ‘Climate Change Adaptation Strategy‘ provides detailed information on the challenges faced in urban areas as a result of increasing temperatures and the webinar hosted by Clean Energy Solutions Center will focus on“how cool roof and pavement materials can mitigate urban island heat effects, lower energy costs, and improve the environment.” The webinar takes place on Wednesday, June 13, 2012 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM BST – the link to register is here. Further information on climate change adaptation issues and London can be found here.