Urban Heat Island

Blog

  1. Field notes: the flat roof that stayed hot through a Chicago winter

    A cold-storage warehouse roof kept reading warm through a Chicago winter. What the thermal record says about material, not just season.

  2. Heat action plans: where surface material data fits

    A heat action plan definition for city planners, plus where roof, pavement, and canopy material data belongs in cooling investment decisions.

  3. How to turn a thermal map into a roof replacement priority list

    A step-by-step guide for city capital planners on turning rooftop thermal data into a ranked, budget-ready roof replacement priority list.

  4. Parking lot resurfacing vs tree planting: which cooling investment pays off first

    A planner's guide to sequencing parking lot resurfacing against tree planting in a capital improvement plan, and why surface type drives the payoff timeline.

  5. Built-up roofing vs. single-ply membrane: which reads hotter from orbit

    How BUR, EPDM, TPO and PVC roofing show up differently in a thermal satellite pass, and why that matters for targeting cooling budget.

  6. What is thermal emissivity, and why it throws off a rooftop reading

    Why a rooftop's satellite temperature reading depends on emissivity, not just material, and why two identical roofs can read differently.

  7. Asphalt vs. concrete: which one holds more heat overnight?

    Asphalt absorbs more heat by day but cools fast at night. Concrete starts cooler but holds heat longer after dark.

  8. Cool roof coating vs. reflective shingle: which one cuts surface temperature more?

    A roofing materials comparison for planners weighing cool roof coating against reflective shingle, and why the answer depends on roof type, slope, and age.

  9. How to prioritize cool pavement pilot streets on a limited budget

    A practical way to pick which blocks get a cool pavement pilot first, when the capital budget covers a handful of streets, not the whole city.

  10. What is albedo and why it matters for pavement heat

    What albedo and solar reflectance mean for pavement and roof surface temperature, and why material matters as much as the heat reading itself.

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