Cliffside Park Workshop

What are urban heat islands?

These are urban areas that are hotter than their surrounding regions
- According to the 2017/2018 Fourth National Climate Assessment from the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), roughly 85% of the American population lives in urban areas
- According to research from the National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS), urban heat islands can reach temperatures 15°F to 20°F higher than peak temperatures in nearby areas with greenery
Urban heat islands are hottest during the summer, but climate change has made intense heat less predictable

Impermeable surfaces, lack of trees, tall buildings, high population density, and human activities are all causes
Urban heat islands are also affected by albedo, the fraction of light that a surface or body reflects

Why are urban heat islands inequitable?

There are significant health consequences from living in hotter urban areas
Financial inequities are created in high temperature areas as residents have to pay higher costs to cool their homes in neighborhoods that typically have less energy efficient residential construction
The lack of trees in urban areas tends to worsen problems like flooding, putting additional economic strain and reduced quality of life on residents

We can plant more trees!
- Although these urban areas will remain densely populated, initiatives that increase tree canopy effectively reduce the impacts of intense heat
- Residents in an urban heat island living near greenery will be much cooler than those living near an asphalt parking lot
- Tree planting is most impactful on urban residential streets lacking in greenery
Increasing surface albedo and evapotranspiration

Newark Tree Planting