Prioritizing Nature-Based Solutions and Technological Innovations to Accelerate Urban Heat Mitigation Pathways
Yongling Zhao, Jan Carmeliet, Rafiq Hamdi, Chao Yuan, Xiaotian Ding, Dominique Derome, YifanFan, Song Jiang, Jian Peng
Abstract
Urban warming, a pressing challenge driven by the compounded effects of climate change and the urban heat island phenomenon, impacts public health, energy demand, and various socioeconomic aspects in cities. We explore interconnected drivers of urban warming from a system-of-systems perspective, highlighting both manageable and intractable urban climate drivers. Emphasizing the need for actionable, swift, and equitable capacity building in mitigation efforts, we propose strategies that integrate nature-based solutions with emerging technological innovations. Studies and pilot projects conducted across diverse regions, including Asia, Africa, North America, Latin America, and Europe, are synthesized to illustrate heat mitigation pathways and to highlight approaches for accelerating urban transformations through a dynamic, whole-system perspective. Our multiscale simulations, via urban parameterization in regional climate modeling, provide further insights into global mitigation potential, revealing that a cooling effect of more than 1.0°C could be achieved in densely populated cities by 2035 through harnessing the benefits of nature-based solutions. Prioritizing the whole-system approach and forward planning—supported by mitigation-oriented modeling tools and enabling policies—are crucial to accelerate urban heat mitigation pathways.