Urban Heat Island is essentially the fact that cities, or more populated urban areas, have a higher pavement to plant life ratio than sparsely populated areas.
If you’ve ever visited Baltimore City during the summer, you know that it can get stiflingly hot, and it may seem as though it is much hotter than it is in the suburbs. That’s not just your imagination; it’s called an Urban Heat Island, or UHI. When the effect is taking place, more populated areas are going to be much warmer, which can lead to adverse effects. Heat stroke, infrastructure damage…we’re at risk when UHI is happening. Read on to learn more about UHI, and how we can prevent it.
What is UHI?
Urban Heat Island is essentially the fact that cities, or more populated urban areas, have a higher pavement to plant life ratio than sparsely populated areas. Cities don’t have a lot of trees or green grass, but rather, large stretches of pavement. Uncovered parking lots are a huge culprit in this situation. Huge patches of dark asphalt only serve to increase the UHI effect, by absorbing the sun’s heat and warming up the ambient atmosphere. During the summer months, this becomes almost unbearable. Roofs are also an issue; most roofs have black or dark-colored shingles, which capture the sun’s warmth, as well. This causes our homes to use more energy in order to cool down, but it also makes the city seem a lot warmer.
What are we doing to prevent it?
Remember those parking lots? Cities are working towards covering them with solar paneled roofs, which will use the sun’s heat for renewable energy. It can also cut down on UHI, because it absorbs the heat and doesn’t emit it back out again. There’s also an effort to use light-colored asphalt. While sealant is currently used to protect asphalt from damage, there are efforts being put into finding a sealant that will reflect the sun’s rays. As for those roofs, cities are attempting to paint shingles with a light coating in order to reflect more heat. The real problem UHI presents is the absorption of heat, not the reflection of it. Absorption is what makes the ambient air hotter, and reflecting the light is what’s going to cool down our cities.
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PTG stands out as an industry leader due to our methodology of pavement management planning: a systematic, long-term approach to managing and extending the life of your pavement. We will work with you to develop a comprehensive strategy to extend and maximize the lifespan of your asphalt and concrete surfaces.
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