A quick-scoping portrait of heat island and green infrastructure vulnerabilities and opportunities for the City of Waterloo

Trees, other vegetation, and engineered water features can contribute to both climate mitigation and adaptation in cities (Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change (Ipcc), 2023). Trees, for instance contribute to climate mitigation through carbon sequestration. They can also contribute to climate adaptation through cooling urban areas (Aram et al., 2020; Bowler et al., 2010). Trees provide additional co-benefits, such as physical health benefits through improved air quality, mental health benefits, and preservation of biodiversity (Barton and Pretty, 2010). Yet, cities are challenged to maintain and increase their urban tree canopy (Er, 2021). The benefit of trees for addressing the urban heat island (and equity) of cities is unique to each city and requires individualized tools to evaluate, project, and manage green infrastructure. Further, equity concerns in the provision of green infrastructure are widely recognized. Neighborhoods with a high proportion of residents who have low socio-economic status and have immigrant status are recognized to be more vulnerable for heat island impacts and too often have lower provision of open spaces and green infrastructure (Harlan et al., 2006; Plumer, 2020). To meet these challenges, cities need improved tools to evaluate, project, and manage green infrastructure for urban planning. We propose to complete the following two objectives: (1) provide the City of Waterloo with a summer-time urban land surface temperature mapping using remotely sensed data and (2) provide preliminary analysis to better understand areas of temperature hot spots and low vegetation throughout the city.

Faculty Supervisor:

Peter Crank

Student:

Partner:

City of Waterloo

Discipline:

Earth science

Sector:

Public administration

University:

University of Waterloo

Program: