Climate, Urban Land Use, and Excess Mortality Study (CULE)
Investigator(s)
Principal investigator:
Brian Stone, School of City and Regional Planning, College of Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
E-mail: stone(at)gatech.edu
Abstract
The CULE project is premised on the observation that alterations in the surface properties of cities brought about through land development activities are playing a significant and measurable role in recent warming trends. An emerging body of evidence suggests the implications of land use for climate change, both within and outside of cities, are multifold. The CULE Study is designed to assess the effectiveness of a set of land use focused climate change management tools in protecting public health in cities. We intend through the study to address three sets of questions as of yet unanswered in the literature:
1) How effective are urban land use/land cover (LULC) strategies designed to increase metropolitan-wide vegetative cover and surface albedo in modifying air temperature, humidity, and windspeeds relative to a business as usual scenario? How does the effectiveness of UHI abatement vary among differing climates (cold vs. warm) and urban morphologies (compact vs. sprawl)?
2) What is the relative contribution of the urban heat island effect and the global greenhouse effect to modeled warming trends across the three study regions?
3) How effective are climate-responsive design strategies in reducing projected levels of morbidity and mortality resulting from heat exposure and enhanced air pollution relative to a business as usual scenario? Which individual strategy or combination of strategies is most protective of future public health?
URL
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