Page 15 - Climate Control News Magazine Feb 2019

In Focus
Research partnership to tackle impact of heat islands
NATIONAL GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE STRATEGY
The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) is calling for the development of a National Green Infrastructure Strategy to be led by the Federal Government.
The strategy, which has the support of more than 30 organisations, will commence with the release of a Green Infrastructure Position Statement in the first quarter of 2019.
AILA president, Shaun Walsh, said the proposed National Green Infrastructure Strategy (NGIS) acknowledges that nature itself operates as an enabler of more effective systems, providing important ecosystem benefits to city, regional and rural communities.
“A national green infrastructure strategy will assist decision makers at all levels of government and in the private sector to leverage the benefits of incorporating biological greening strategies into the design, construction and management of major infrastructure assets,” he said.
Deploying a National Green Infrastructure Strategy will also combat the impact of heatwaves across cities through urban cooling policies, while well-designed and accessible urban open spaces will reduce the incidence of peak load demand and further contribute to reducing health risks for vulnerable members of the community.
Data collected from the heat sensors will generate detailed temperature maps.
CAMPBELLTOWN CITY COUNCIL partnered with Western Sydney University to launch a heat sensor project to measure the air temperature in 110 locations across the council area over summer.
The research findings will inform new poli- cies aimed at reducing urban heat and cooling the suburbs.
Sensors were installed in trees in a grid pattern across the Local Government Area to collect temperature information at 10-minute intervals over a three-month period, ending February 2019.
‘THIS INITIATIVE WILL HELP US FIND WAYS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.”
– MAYOR GEORGE BRITCEVIC.
The data captured by the sensors will provide accurate and detailed information that will be used to develop and update policies aimed at re- ducing the heat in urban areas, help communi- ties become more resilient and improve the local environment.
Mayor Cr George Brticevic said it is an impor- tant initiative that will provide council with the
critical data to help understand the impact of heat and find ways to reduce it in the long-term. “We want to find ways to reduce the heat gen-
erated in our urban areas and in doing so, create a truly sustainable place to live and visit. This initiative will help us to understand what we can do to make a difference,” he said.
Dr Sebastian Pfautsch, Research Theme Fel- low – Environmental Sustainability at Western Sydney University, said the Greater Sydney Basin is warming as a result of the combined effects of climate change and rapid urbanisation.
“We know that the urban heat island effect is especially striking in Western Sydney, with an increasing number of hot and very hot days. However, no ir temperature data is available for the Campbelltown City Council area as of- ficial weather stations can only be found out- side the local government area,” Pfautsch said. “The heat sensor project allows us to gauge de- tailed information into the micro climate of the region.”
Researchers from Western Sydney University will use the data collected from the heat sensors to generate detailed temperature maps that will help understand daytime heating and night time cooling at unprecedented scale. Of special interest will be hot days and heatwaves and how they impact urban microclimate. ✺
CLIMATE CONTROL NEWS FEBRUARY 2019
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