Posts tagged ‘urban heat island effect’
Tackling Urban heat at CB Smith Reserve with more trees
Merri-bek Council have started work in tackling the urban heat of the CB Smith Reserve car park in Fawkner by providing more spaces for canopy trees to be planted.
Asphalt surfaces commonly heat up to 60 degrees Celsius during warm summer days. That acts as a heat bank which then radiates during the night keeping the local area at elevated temperatures during the night. This can affect nearby residences. A spot temperature reading was taken on 17 February of the asphalt road in front of the community hall with a spot temperature reading of 58.2C A concrete section of the road at the same location was 51.2C Ambient air temperature in the shade was 38C.
(more…)Moderating the urban heat of car parks in Moreland
As a highly built up municipality Moreland tends feel the heat of Summer and extreme heat events exacerbated by the urban heat island effect. The extensive car parks and roads around our municipality contribute to this amplification of high temperature effects.
New research from University of Western Sydney throws new light on the urban heat island effect on microclimates and especially the role of asphalt car parks. Asphalt is particularly bad for building up heat inertia to warm the micro climate during both the day and night. But the researchers also outlined solutions.
How does this apply in Moreland? Well Moreland Council should be implementing heat mitigation solutions for all Council car parks, and also advocating for these solutions when Businesses provide parking, or the State Government expands parking, such as at Merlynston Station. Moreland Council is expanding parking at Hosken Reserve as part of the Hosken Reserve Masterplan, but have paid little attention to limiting urban heat from car parking. When putting in new car parking is the ideal time to implement urban heat solutions.
(more…)Synthetic Turf and the Tragedy of the Commons in Moreland
Climate Action Moreland has done a literature review to highlight the general environmental, social and health issues with synthetic turf, and specific issues around a proposal to convert unfenced grass sporting fields at Hosken Reserve in Coburg North to a fenced synthetic soccer pitch. This is the text of our submission to the Moreland Council engagement consultants employed for public consultation to inform the Hosken Reserve Refresh project for Moreland Council.
We have also reported on our blog separately on synthetic turf carbon footprint and total life cycle greenhouse gas emissions, and on the impact synthetic turf will likely have on the urban heat island effect on local residents.
Conversion of natural grass to Synthetic turf at Hosken Reserve should be considered as a catalyst issue for opposing increasing synthetic turf generally in our municipality. We are also very concerned with increasing State Government funding of school oval conversions increasing heat stress risk for children and heating the local microclimate affecting both children and local residents, against expert advice. (See Madden, et al, 2018 (Cool Schools), Pfautsch et al, Sept 2020 (School Microclimates))
We acknowledge the work done by local Merlynston residents on this issue to Help Keep Hosken a place for Community in defence of their grassed open space which they have been quite willing to share the use of with Sporting Clubs as Commons space.
(more…)How will Synthetic turf impact urban heat island and microclimate around Hosken Reserve?
Synthetic turf surface temp heat profile compared to natural grass (Hong Kong) – Alm 2016
Adding a synthetic pitch to Hosken Reserve will increase the Urban Heat Island Effect (UHIE), reduce the Cool Park effect, and be felt mostly strongly by local residents. Artificial turf elevated temperatures will affect playability and heat stress to players, and not only in Summer but also for warm days in both Spring and Autumn when the temperature is elevated. Our Melbourne summers are getting longer.
For the most part it is local residents that would need to live with this permanent impact on increased microclimate temperatures over summer months and during warmer days in Spring and Autumn. Urban Heat island effect is more prominent during the night than during the day. This will likely increase evening energy use from air conditioners of local residents which will have a feedback of putting more heat back into the local environment.
Our temperature research at Hosken Reserve natural grass oval and Clifton Park synthetic pitch shows on a warm day (around 30C as per BOM records) the surface temperatures on the synthetic pitch are regularly 80-90 percent greater than natural grass, and may on occasion reach double the temperature of grass.
Moreland’s heat vulnerability is already at a high level, synthetic turf will contribute more heat when we need to be trying to cool our suburbs through green infrastructure. Moreland Council needs to find cooling solutions not exacerbate the problem with converting a much loved community shared grass oval to a fenced synthetic pitch.
Climate Action Moreland has had an interest for several years in urban heat island effect and how it is magnified by the rising temperatures of climate change and urban densification and development. This post draws upon past literature reviews and a recent science literature survey associated with artificial surfaces and the urban heat island effect that formed part of our submission on the Hosken Refresh consultation.
(more…)
Landmark Urban Forest Strategy adopted by Moreland Council
At the City of Moreland’s August Council meeting the draft Urban Forest Strategy was adopted. This is a major piece of policy for municipality wide climate adaptation and dealing with the Urban Heat Island Effect (UHIE). Moreland’s urban forest also provides significant shade and cooling to the urban environment, carbon removal, oxygen, biodiversity habitat, and reduced stormwater runoff.
Much work from dedicated council officers like Alex English, Moreland’s Open Space Planner, and many others, have gone into making this strategy document important.
The extensive community consultation resulted in a record number of submissions (257) on this policy, as well as 77 people attending consultation sessions. The adopted Policy document will be available shortly from the Moreland Council website.
(more…)
Moreland Council receives grant for mitigating the Urban Heat Island effect
Moreland’s social heat vulnerability
Moreland Council has received $80,000 grant funding from the Victorian Government on a project to minimise the impact of the Urban Heat Island Effect on vulnerable social housing residents.
The urban heat island effect results when urban surfaces heat up much faster than rural land. With temperatures climbing due to climate change and more extreme heat events predicted, the urban heat island effect will magnify the heat health impacts on the population, especially more vulnerable people like the young, the old, outside workers and those with medical conditions.
The grant funding was part of $1.15 million to support Council driven projects across Victoria in mitigation and adaptation to climate change.
The funding will assist the Council’s Urban Heat Island Strategy that is presently in draft mode about to go to Council for consideration for formal adoption at Council’s June 2016 meeting.
(more…)
Climate Action Merribek: people in Brunswick, Coburg, Fawkner and Glenroy wanting action on climate change 