We must stop believing that there is one and only perfect solution for cooling cities…
When I present the subject of the urban heat island and the fight against urban overheating, the same question always comes up: what is THE solution to fight against this phenomenon?
There is clearly a bias in human beings which leads them to reason through solutions that are often isolated from each other.
You only need to consult a catalog or visit a professional building trade show to see that the word “solution” is everywhere: “insulation solution”, “airtightness solution”, “heating solution”, etc.
Except that in the field of urban cooling, it is impossible to present a solution that would be perfect and universally effective in lowering the temperature of cities and improving the comfort of city dwellers.
There are a multitude of cooling strategies and techniques (planting, shade sails, etc.) which can potentially work in synergy if their benefits are sufficiently studied.
More generally, reasoning by “solution” seems far removed from the bioclimatic conception which postulates that there exist singular local climates and microclimates, each having a different climatic potential which requires appropriate strategies.
Let's not wait for the perfect solution to implement those that we know and that work!
Sources: Encore Heureux, G. Simondon
Image: C. Gaillard