RP2023: Microclimate and Urban Heat Island Mitigation Decision-Support Tool

This project aims to develop a robust and tangible microclimate and urban heat island mitigation decision-support tool that bridges the gap between research on urban microclimates and its practical application. Project objectives are:

• to provide governments and built environment industries with a decision-support tool to inform urban policy, development assessment and planning practices related to potential building and urban interventions, used to cool streetscapes and cities, decrease energy consumption, protect the population’s vulnerable health-wise, and improve conditions of comfort.
• to integrate scientific models with a range of mitigation techniques to perform urban heat island mitigation analysis across both building and urban scales, such as building coatings and roofs, urban form and density, greenery and infrastructure.
• to develop an Urban Heat Island Mitigation Performance Index to support governments in establishing performance targets for their planning control. The Index will indicate impact on street level temperature, health and mortality, precinct level energy consumption, etc.

Key benefits

• Convenient, easy and efficient to use by governments, developers and planners to mitigate vulnerability to climate change, in particular urban heat island mitigation;
• Supports evidence-based decisions and strategies relating to low carbon and climate adaptation in urban development processes;
• Fills the gap between research and practical application of urban microclimates. 

Project framework

Project steering committee

The Project Steering Committee consists of representatives from:

• AECOM
• BlueScope Steel
• City of Sydney
• Greater Sydney Commission
• Inner West Council
• NSW Department of Finance, Services & Innovation (Emergency Information Coordination Unit)
• NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH)
• Parramatta City Council
• Southern Sydney Regional organization of Councils (SSROC)
• Stockland
• Swinburne University
• University of New South Wales (UNSW)
• UrbanGrowth NSW
• Waverley Council
• Western Sydney Regional Organization of Councils (WSROC)
• CRC for Low Carbon Living

Precinct visits

Project participants