Using Science to Manage Heat: An Evidence-based Approach to Urban Design

Cities are increasingly challenged to grapple with the impact climate change, especially urban heat, poses for human health and municipal ecosystems. Tackling such complex issues will necessarily require new ways of thinking and new ways of doing. We will draw upon a state-of-the-art thermal heat research study we are conducting in the Southwestern Medical District (SWMD) in Dallas, an area with the highest heat island index in the city with a mere 7% treescape and an unsafe, antiquated, and wholly dysfunctional streetscape, as well as our landmark SWMD study on Urban Heat Island Management, to discuss design trends and needs in the era of climate change. Our panelists, which include an urban designer, a bioengineer research scientist, and a medical anthropologist, will share lessons learned from our SWMD research as it informs futuristic design and urban health.  Key issues will include the critical need to build empirical frameworks with innovative, evidence-based methodologies and the intrinsic value of transdisciplinary concepts and collaborations. We conclude with a discussion of the “nature lab” paradigm we are pioneering to address the complex and shifting intersections between the built environment, nature, and human health.