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Integrated Assessment of Urban Overheating Impacts on Human Life
  • +14
  • Negin Nazarian,
  • Scott Krayenhoff,
  • Benjamin Bechtel,
  • David Hondula,
  • Riccardo Paolini,
  • Jennifer K Vanos,
  • Toby Cheung,
  • WTL Chow,
  • Richard de Dear,
  • Ollie Jay,
  • Jason KW Lee,
  • Alberto Martilli,
  • Ariane Middel,
  • Leslie K Norford,
  • Mahsan Sadeghi,
  • Mat Santamouris,
  • Stefano Schiavon
Negin Nazarian
University of New South Wales, University of New South Wales

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Scott Krayenhoff
University of Guelph, University of Guelph
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Benjamin Bechtel
Ruhr-University Bochum, Ruhr-University Bochum
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David Hondula
Arizona State University, Arizona State University
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Riccardo Paolini
UNSW, UNSW
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Jennifer K Vanos
Arizona State University, Arizona State University
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Toby Cheung
Berkeley Education Alliance for Research in Singapore, Berkeley Education Alliance for Research in Singapore
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WTL Chow
Unknown, Unknown
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Richard de Dear
University of Sydney, University of Sydney
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Ollie Jay
University of Sydney, University of Sydney
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Jason KW Lee
National University of Singapore, National University of Singapore
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Alberto Martilli
CIEMAT, CIEMAT
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Ariane Middel
Arizona State University, Arizona State University
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Leslie K Norford
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Mahsan Sadeghi
University of New South Wales, University of New South Wales
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Mat Santamouris
UNSW, UNSW
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Stefano Schiavon
University of California Berkeley, University of California Berkeley
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Abstract

Urban overheating, driven by global climate change and urban development, is a major contemporary challenge which substantially impacts urban livability and sustainability. Overheating represents a multi-faceted threat to well-being, performance, and health of individuals as well as the energy efficiency and economy of cities, and it is influenced by complex interactions between building, city, and global scale climates. In recent decades, extensive discipline-specific research has characterized urban heat and assessed its implications on human life, including ongoing efforts to bridge neighboring disciplines. The research horizon now encompasses complex problems involving a wide range of disciplines, and therefore comprehensive and integrated assessments are needed that address such interdisciplinarity. Here, the objective is to go beyond a review of existing literature and provide a broad overview and future outlook for integrated assessments of urban overheating, defining holistic pathways for addressing the impacts on human life. We (i) detail the characterization of heat exposure across different scales and in various disciplines, (ii) identify individual sensitivities to urban overheating that increase vulnerability and cause adverse impacts in different populations, (iii) elaborate on adaptive capacities that individuals and cities can adopt, (iv) document the impacts of urban overheating on health and energy, and (v) discuss frontiers of theoretical and applied urban climatology, built environment design, and governance toward reduction of heat exposure and vulnerability at various scales. The most critical challenges in future research and application are identified, targeting both the gaps and the need for greater integration in overheating assessments.