Projects
Urban heat mitigation in Richmond
Simulation results of Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET) for the George Mason University Arlington Campus on August 28, 2024.
The Challenge
Temperatures are often exacerbated in cities as sidewalks, buildings, and other human-built structures retain heat differently from natural elements. This causes cities to experience higher temperatures, coined urban heat, and can negatively impact public health and infrastructure in affected regions.
The Project
VCC expert Luis Ortiz and his students are collaborating with Virginia cities to assess the risks posed by urban heat islands as part of the CLIM 759 Micrometeorological Modeling for Local Climate Action course developed under a joint initiative with George Mason University’s Institute for a Sustainable Earth.
In this course, students learn the fundamental concepts of how urban environments modify local atmospheric processes and the subsequent impacts on human heat stress. Those participating in the course also learn how to use small-scale atmospheric (micrometeorological) models and apply their learned skills in urban heat-related projects co-designed by community stakeholders. Community partners then provide feedback on the projects and iterate with students on solutions to ensure the project deliverables are useful in advancing partners’ initiatives.
The CLIM 759 course will be held every spring semester with new community partners.
Who’s Involved?
The Spring 2025 semester projects were led by VCC urban heat expert Luis Ortiz in close collaboration with Southside ReLEAF in Richmond, Virginia.
Spring 2025 Projects
Students and staff partnered with community-based organization Southside ReLEAF throughout the Spring 2025 semester to develop projects evaluating the benefits of urban trees on human thermal comfort in three key Southside Richmond locations.
Using the micrometeorological model Envi-Met, students were able to successfully replicate the environments of the three locations in a scenario with current tree cover versus a 'greening intervention' scenario with higher tree cover. Students then examined how the two scenarios impacted values of the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), a measure of how the human body experiences heat considering air temperature, radiation from the sun, humidity, and wind flow.
Initial results showed simulated environments with higher tree cover led to significantly lower UTCI values, meaning residents would experience real feel temperatures of up to 10 degrees cooler than those with less tree cover. Furthermore, cooling even extended to the surrounding environment benefitting everyone in the immediate area and not just those directly under tree cover. Project teams presented their conclusions to Southside ReLEAF and recommended solutions such as integrating more tree cover and reflective surfaces to ensure comfortability of residents in the three examined regions across Richmond. Students and staff will continue to collaborate with Southside ReLEAF as feedback and insights are given.
