Tag Archives: Los Angeles

Los Angeles Urban Cooling Collaborative

Helping to Demonstrate the Benefits of a Cooler Los Angeles as a Model for Other Cities

The Los Angeles Urban Cooling Collaborative (LAUCC) is a unique national partnership between nonprofit groups, universities, government agencies and other experts in urban heat with the aim of achieving a cooler, more prosperous, and healthier Los Angeles by addressing current and future challenges posed by urban heat. By mid-century, average temperatures in Los Angeles are expected to rise by 3 to 7°F. Heat stress driven by this kind of warming is associated with many negative health outcomes, including premature death, which is expected to become more common as the planet continues to warm. These effects are particularly pronounced in highly urbanized areas like Los Angeles.

The LAUCC brings together policy and implementation experts, world-class research institutions and others to empower communities, city officials, and other key stakeholders to act on the urgency and realize the full value of robust planning today for a cooler city tomorrow.

The LAUCC Strategy

To realize the opportunities of a cooler Los Angeles, LAUCC will:

Quantify the health impacts of installing reflective roofs and vegetation at the neighborhood level with original research.
Demonstrate the real-world impact of these strategies in select Los Angeles communities. Deliverable: Community-scale demonstration projects in one to three neighborhoods.
Leverage existing relationships with city officials and other stakeholders to ensure that these cool strategies are prioritized in city and utility policymaking.

This cutting-edge research will produce a framework that will be shared nationally with decision makers and stakeholders, community health organizations, NGOs, and urban forestry groups.
LAUCC is seeking funding and partners interested in tackling the challenge of urban heat and create a climate-resilient Los Angeles. Please contact Kurt Shickman (kurt at globalcoolcities.org) if you are interested in learning more!

Partners include:

Studies Draw Direct Line from Climate Change to Extreme Heat and Drought

A new report from the Climate Council of Australia confirms what many have long suspected – that human-caused climate change makes heat waves more certain and more extreme. 2013 was the hottest year on record in Australia, and as this report notes, the 2012 / 2013 heat waves would have been “virtually impossible” without the release of human-made greenhouse gas emissions into our atmosphere.

It also found that climate change tripled the odds that the heat waves would occur as frequently as they did, and doubled the odds that they would be as intense as they were. More than 123 temperature records were broken during that summer, and the author of the report – Will Steffen – said that these temperatures will seem cool by 2090 unless we act now.

Thankfully, Australia is already using reflective technology to help bring temperatures down. In the City of Melbourne, City administrators know that with the increased frequency and intensity of heatwaves, they need to understand the economic impacts of such events on businesses. From the City of Melbourne

“We’re doubling tree canopy cover for our urban forest, upgrading drainage infrastructure, funding more energy efficient buildings, implementing planning processes to minimise climate risk and installing various water-sensitive urban design initiatives. Heatwaves don’t only impact our city economically, heat related illness also kills more Australian’s each year than any other natural disaster so City of Melbourne has identified this as a priority issue we must prepare better for,” Cr Wood said.

Meanwhile, the City of Sydney is conducting a trial to see if lighter colored pavement will help reduce the urban heat island effect and improve the comfort and health of the people who live there.

People on the west coast of the United States are also feeling the effects of climate change. A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science shows that greenhouse gas emissions have increased the likelihood of warm, dry conditions in California, and that by 2030, the warm weather driving the current drought could occur annually.

This problem isn’t just confined to California. According to The National Integrated Drought Information System (Drought.gov), 32% of contiguous USA is in moderate or worse drought.

Thankfully, cities in the Golden State are already on it. A new law went into effect in the city of Los Angeles last year that requires white roofs on all new construction and major rebuilds of residential buildings. Commercial and residential buildings are now required to employ reflective roof technology to help bring city temperatures down. The cities of Pasadena and Hermosa Beach have enacted similar regulations – you can read more about it here.

The problems brought on by extreme heat and climate change are many. But many city leaders around the world are recognizing the benefits of reflective roofs and pavements, and are using this technology to conserve energy, reduce emissions, and save lives.

Los Angeles White Roofs Building Code is Online

Speaking of useful resources…

Last December, the Los Angeles City Council updated the city’s building code – which required the installation of white roofs on commercial structures – to require the installation of white roofs on new and rebuilt residential structures. The city has put all the documents and discussion on line in their docket – including the City Attorney’s report.

Since then, several other cities (Pasadena and Hermosa Beach, CA) have enacted similar updates. We thought it might be useful for other cities to have access to the relevant documents and reports, so we’ve added information on Los Angeles to our ToolKit Knowledge Base, which you can find HERE.

Catch GCCA Executive Director Kurt Shickman on KCRW

Madeleine Brand, a reporter for NPR station KCRW in Santa Monica, California, noted that extreme heat is now the most deadly of weather-driven disasters. She invited GCCA’s Executive Director, Kurt Shickman on her show to talk about the urban heat island effect, and Kurt explained how cool roofs can help cities cool down, conserve energy and save lives. Kurt noted the many affordable color options available in today’s roofing marketplace.

They also discussed the new regulations in Los Angeles, which require white roofs on new commercial and residential buildings, as well as major roof rebuilds.

You can listen to the show here, and read more about efforts to bring down temperatures in Los Angeles with cool roofs,here.

Catch GCCA Executive Director, Kurt Shickman on KCRW

They also discussed the new regulations in Los Angeles, which require white roofs on new commercial and residential buildings, as well as major roof rebuilds.

You can listen to the show here, and read more about efforts to bring down temperatures in Los Angeles with cool roofs, here.

Cool Roofs Studies are in the News

New reports from GCCA & ACEEE, and the Georgia Institute of Technology find that many cities are developing strategies to reduce excess urban heat, and that states, neighboring jurisdictions, utilities, and building owners are helping to mainstream these practices.

The first study comes from the Global Cool Cities Alliance (GCCA), and the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE), in which they surveyed the policies of 26 North American cities. E & E Publishing’s ClimateWire raised a few points we thought were worth noting, in Cities Take Steps to Address Extreme Heat …

Several cities across the United States and Canada are now taking steps to mitigate local heat and prevent future warming, according to a new survey by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) and the Global Cool Cities Alliance (GCCA). Of 26 medium and large cities, two-thirds cited extreme heat events and an increased number of high-heat days as the trigger for adopting policies to address the heat island effect.

. . .

Installing reflective and light-colored surfaces on walkways, roads and roofs is one of the most effective ways to address the heat island effect. For instance, U.S. EPA research shows that conventional asphalt can reach 120-150 F in the summer, while reflective pavement stays 50-70 degrees cooler.

. . .

More than half of the 26 cities surveyed said they have requirements in place for reflective and vegetated roofing on private-sector buildings. And nearly every city had policies to increase tree canopy and improve stormwater management.

ClimateWire also reported on a new study out of the Georgia Institute of Technology in which researchers looked at Phoenix, AZ, Philadelphia, PA and Atlanta, GA, and found that white roofs, reflective pavement and trees can counteract temperature increases in cities and save lives. From Rising Temperatures Are Deadly, But Urban Cooling Fixes Can Counter Threats …

[T]he researchers modeled how the three cities would respond to a minimum green space ratio on land parcels, setting a floor for areas covered with grass, gardens or trees. Vegetation tends to have a cooling effect by circulating moisture in the air that draws away heat during evaporation. Tree canopies also provide cooling shade.

The team also modeled how Phoenix, Philadelphia and Atlanta would behave with more reflective streets, sidewalks, parking lots and rooftops. Higher reflectivity, or albedo, means the area absorbs less sunlight, thereby lowering the temperature.

Stone and his collaborators then overlaid a health impact model. They found that combinations of increased vegetation and albedo could cut into projected increases in heat deaths, reducing them between 40 and 99 percent. “On average, we reduced the rate of increase by about 60 percent,” Stone said.

. . .

Groups like the Global Cool Cities Alliance are now trying to get cities to adopt these adaptation strategies, pitching them as a way to protect public health. However, it’s slow going, given that cities around the country address heat vulnerability differently, if at all.

You can find the full study HERE.

This report parallels a recent GCCA report, which looks at Baltimore MD, New York, NY, and Los Angeles, CA, and shows how reflective roofs and vegetation can cool air temperatures and save lives.

Note: Access to the ClimateWire articles is limited to subscribers.

It’s Unanimous – Los Angeles is a Cool City

The Los Angeles City Council has unanimously approved an update to the city building code, making LA the first major city to require the installation of cool roofs on all new and refurbished homes. LA already requires cool roofs on commercial properties, but this latest update to the code puts the city out ahead of all other major cities when it comes to cool roofs.

You can read more about it here: Climate Resolve press release