urban

April 22, 2009 | University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ | Event Web site

Tucson will host a “Spotlight Conversation on Climate Action” as part of an elite group of 10 communities that were selected by ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability to be highlighted nationally. This event is part of the National Conversation on Climate Action series of local-level community engagement events taking place nationwide on Earth Day.

Posted by Rebecca Carter | on January 15, 2009
An assessment of western state climate plans finds many communities could cost-efficiently reduce their emissions by about 20 percent if their land use planning-related policies were fully implemented.

The figure illustrates larger increases in daily minimum temperatures at urban measuring stations in Phoenix than at the rural stations located at Casa Grande National Monument. Casa Grande National Monument is located between the two cities.

The urban heat island (UHI) amplifies local temperatures and principally occurs when natural landscapes are converted to urban areas. Higher temperatures occur because dense concentrations of materials like asphalt and buildings absorb more heat during the day and release it more slowly at night than natural ground cover such as soil and vegetation (Figure 1).

Posted by Stephen Miller | on July 09, 2008
UA engineering and landscape architecture faculty and staff meet the region's landscape challenges, supplying vegetation with water, combating urban flooding, and reducing the urban heat island (UHI).