ASU Making Scottsdale More Sustainable

The Rob and Melanie Walton Sustainability Service is working to make life in Scottsdale cooler. The Service, part of Arizona State University, a leader in developing sustainability solutions, is working with Scottsdale officials to minimize something called “Intra-Urban Heat Variability” by developing heat mitigation strategies for the city.

The city of Scottsdale is working with the Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Service at ASU to maximize environmental sustainability. Currently, the Solutions Service is assisting Scottsdale in minimizing intra-urban heat variability. The contract focuses on researching and developing sustainability policies and plans for heat mitigation strategies for the city.

Jennifer Vanos, an assistant professor at the school of sustainability and a co-principal investigator for the project with Scottsdale, said “really focused on, essentially, prioritizing programs, policies and planning in the city of Scottsdale. So that we can proport heat mitigation efforts and try and keep levels of heat in the city down to, hopefully, support sustainability, safety, and health.” Scottsdale is one of the fastest growing cities in the country and along with other parts of the Valley, one of the hottest, at least during the summer. Rising heat levels could make Scottsdale a less desirable location in years to come, so Vanos and her colleagues at ASU, David Hondula and David Sailor are devising strategies to reduce the intra-urban heat variability.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, heat islands are urbanized areas that experience higher temperatures than outlying areas. Structures such as buildings, roads, and other infrastructure absorb and re-emit the sun's heat more than natural landscapes such as forests and water bodies. Heat Islands can increase energy consumption, emissions of green house gases and air pollutants, and compromise water quality and human health.

Heat islands impact some places more than others depending on the area. Cities that face higher temperatures and extreme heat waves, see the dangerous impacts of this effect more than others. Scottsdale, for example, is extremely susceptible to these conditions. These conditions are hazardous to those who are vulnerable to extreme heat, which is a driving force behind governments acting to reduce urban heat.

Vanos said, “With this project, although the UHI effect is important, we are really focused on within the city of Scottsdale itself, where are the hotter spots? And where are the cooler spots? And why are they hotter or cooler? We call that ‘intra-urban’ heat variability.” intra-urban heat variability are the areas within a city that are hotter than others. Minimizing hot-spots will benefit community members greatly: keeping them safe and minimizing heat-related health risks, as well as reducing pollution that is related to energy use. Vanos continued, “If we can reduce the air temperature and surface temperatures so that air conditioners don’t need to run so much and then we can improve energy use and reduce pollution from energy use in houses.”

The main plan of action for reducing intra-urban heat variability in Scottsdale revolves around meaningful infrastructure. That can mean structural shade, like Ramada-type structures or planting trees, which can reduce the amount of heat that hits hot spots, according to Vanos. “We can focus on bringing down the surface temperatures and air temperatures in the current hotter spots. Especially in areas of development where we know they are growing and going to be developing, it gives us opportunity to propose the changes and propose the central benefits beforehand, that’s going to help reduce human’s exposure to heat, hopefully, allow humans to more safely use the outdoor spaces.”

Construction regulations are also a key component of reducing Intra-Urban Heat variability. The Green Program inspires a whole-system approach through design and building methods to reduce environmental impact and lessen the amount of energy a building consumes. In result, it will contribute to the health of the community members said Tim Conner, who manages Scottsdale's Office of Environmental Initiatives “We have one of the best green building programs in the state, if not west of the Mississippi.”

Anthony Floyd, the Green Program Building Manager, said his office is working to ensure that Scottsdale adopts the "gold standard" for International Green Construction Code standard commercial buildings in the city. That means all buildings use solar and renewable energy. This includes using solar and renewable energy on all new projects and also building as a way to mitigate heat to reduce the Urban Heat Island Effect. Floyd said, “We want to set a goal for the overall community, including city facilities, so that we can reach a realistic goal.” Floyd said the goal for most cities is 2050 because of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions; however, they are looking to hit some targets sooner than that.

Scottsdale is also a part of the ASU Sustainable Cities Network. This network works collaboratively with surrounding communities to connect communities, advance sustainability and foster solutions. According to ASU’s Global Sustainability, practitioners within the network share knowledge, resources, and innovations; the network helps in streamlining city operations, advancing solar energy, mitigating the urban heat island, designing sustainable neighborhoods, and making sustainability a core value in city planning, police and operation.

The city is working collaboratively with other cities to maximize sustainability, this includes Phoenix and Tuscon. Collectively, they are trying to make as many improvements as possible, this also means that they adapt what other communities have done to their own community. Tim Conner of the Office of Environmental Initiatives said, “That’s the same that most valley cities are looking at as well, they’re not trying to be pioneers to the point that they’re out on the cutting edge and bleeding edge of the razor.”

With a median household of more than $84-thousand dollars, Scottsdale is one of the wealthiest communities in the country and has the resources to take the initiative with ambitious efforts to mitigate Intra-Urban Heat Variability issues in partnership with the Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Service and ASU. But nearly ten percent of Scottsdale residents live at or below live in poverty and ASU's Jennifer Vanos notes it's those people who will benefit the most from Scottsdale's efforts to make the city cooler, “they are experiencing higher temperatures, that’s an equity issue and an environmental injustice. There are a lot of efforts put in to creating a more equal level of heat across the city, so that some people are not more affected than others.”