Publication: Primer for Cool Cities: Reducing Excessive Urban Heat – With a Focus on Passive Measures
Loading...
Files in English
1,420 downloads
Published
2020-07-21
ISSN
Date
2020-07-27
Editor(s)
Abstract
Cities are getting hotter as a result of growing urbanization and global climate change. The negative impacts of temperature increases are significant and touch nearly every aspect of urban life. Protecting populations from extreme heat is one of the key resiliency and sustainability challenges of the twenty- first century. Successfully implementing measures to cool cities will lead to many benefits, including for health, well-being, productivity, air quality, and energy systems. Urban cooling solutions can be deployed in the short term to help mitigate the risk of rising urban air temperatures. This primer and its companion report, Cool City Case Studies: Reducing Urban Heat, provide practical, actionable guidance and examples for implementers, policy makers, and planners tasked with mitigating urban heat impacts.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Energy Sector Management Assistance Program. 2020. Primer for Cool Cities: Reducing Excessive Urban Heat – With a Focus on Passive Measures. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34218 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication The Energy Efficient Cities Initiative Practitioners' Roundtable(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-11)Cities represent a major contributor of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. According to the United Nations Population Fund,1 half of the world's population now lives in cities and is responsible for 75% of global energy use and GHG emissions. Since the world's population will continue to grow, and rapid urbanization will continue particularly in the developing world, tackling climate change issues in the urban context will be essential. In response to these challenges, the World Bank's Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), in cooperation with the Bank?s Finance Economics and Urban Department (FEU), has launched an Energy Efficient Cities Initiative, which is designed to help mainstream and scale-up sustainable energy and climate change mitigation actions and investments in the urban context. The first activity proposed under this Initiative is the Energy Efficient Cities Practitioners Roundtable, a facilitated discussion cohosted by ESMAP and FEU. The purpose of this event was to bring together client cities and partner organizations to investigate ongoing initiatives and programs to support cities' sustainable energy goals needs and develop an Energy Efficient Cities Action Plan that will outline a vision and subsequent actions to be taken under the Initiative. The event took place at the Washington DC offices of the World Bank, from October 20-21, 2008.Publication Planning Energy Efficient and Livable Cities(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-11)The world's urban population is expected to increase by about 2.7 billion by 2050.Virtually all of the increased population will be in developing countries, leading to massive needs for new and improved housing and urban infrastructures (UNDESA 2012). The planning and design of these new developments will reshape or create new urban landscapes with significant implications for energy consumption, infrastructure costs, as well as the livability and social and economic resilience of cities. Studies of cities around the world indicate that a city's livability and its level of energy use are closely linked to its physical form, namely the spatial distribution and dimensions of buildings, streets, and parks, as well as the spatial coordination of residences, jobs, social services, and environmental amenities.Publication Primer for Space Cooling(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-09-29)Developed in the context of the rapidly growing demand for space cooling and the critical need for access to affordable space cooling solutions, this primer aims to introduce a broad audience to the topic of space cooling and its key considerations, and to help initiate and advance sustainable space cooling into policy discussions and investment considerations in developing countries. The global energy use for space cooling is projected to grow three-fold between 2016 and 2050, with a majority of this growth occurring in developing countries. While the growing need for space cooling is in alignment with the developmental needs of countries, this growth must be addressed with carefully designed strategies and solutions to avoid severe economic, power system, and environmental impacts. Underscoring an integrative approach to space cooling, the primer provides with an overview of strategies that reduce the cooling loads of buildings by applying building efficiency measures that enhance thermal performance, serve the cooling load as efficiently as possible through appropriate choice of cooling solution and utilization of most efficient cooling equipment available, and optimize the performance of cooling through their operation. Discussing the barriers to implement sustainable space cooling, the primer also presents demonstrated space cooling intervention strategies that can help overcome these barriers, with over 100 real-world examples and implementation considerations included in the Compendium.Publication Improving Energy Efficiency in Buildings(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-08)About one-third of global energy is consumed in residential, public, and commercial buildings (collectively referred to as buildings), where it is used for space heating, cooling, ventilating, lighting, cooking, water heating, refrigerating, and operating electric and mechanical devices. Global energy use in buildings is expected to grow as cities in developing countries continue to modernize and per capita income levels continue to increase. Because of their high energy consumption, residential, public, and commercial buildings also offer unparalleled opportunities for energy savings. According to the International Energy Agency, buildings account for some 41 percent of global energy savings potential by 2035, compared with the industrial sector (24 percent) and the transport sector (21 percent). This guidance note outlines how cities can tap into a wide array of proven technologies, policies, and financing mechanisms to improve energy efficiency and capture cost-effective energy savings in buildings. It offers city leaders advice on how to get started in introducing energy efficiency measures, and provides lessons and examples from successful programs that have been introduced worldwide.Publication Compendium to the Primer for Space Cooling(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-10-01)This compendium presents examples and analyses of space cooling interventions from across the world (from both developed and developing countries), with an aim to highlight the key insights learned. Interventions discussed in the compendium are meant to be options to inform strategies, implementation mechanisms, and road maps for countries that are seeking to address and increase sustainable space cooling. Interventions involve a combination of actions reducing cooling loads, serving cooling needs efficiently, and optimizing and controlling cooling loads. While each country will chart its own pathway toward sustainable space cooling, the need for a multipronged approach consistently applies. The best outcomes will emerge from a multipronged approach that incorporates information, policy and regulatory measures, clear leadership, financing and implementation models, training, and research and development. The objectives of the primer are to introduce a broad audience, including practitioners in different fields, to space cooling and to help initiate and advance sustainable space cooling into policy discussions and investment considerations in developing countries. The primer explains the foundational aspects of space cooling, makes the case that sustainable space cooling achieved through low-energy and low-climate-impact pathways is a critical priority, and emphasizes an integrative approach as essential to addressing space cooling sustainably.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Digital Progress and Trends Report 2023(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-03-05)Digitalization is the transformational opportunity of our time. The digital sector has become a powerhouse of innovation, economic growth, and job creation. Value added in the IT services sector grew at 8 percent annually during 2000–22, nearly twice as fast as the global economy. Employment growth in IT services reached 7 percent annually, six times higher than total employment growth. The diffusion and adoption of digital technologies are just as critical as their invention. Digital uptake has accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic, with 1.5 billion new internet users added from 2018 to 2022. The share of firms investing in digital solutions around the world has more than doubled from 2020 to 2022. Low-income countries, vulnerable populations, and small firms, however, have been falling behind, while transformative digital innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) have been accelerating in higher-income countries. Although more than 90 percent of the population in high-income countries was online in 2022, only one in four people in low-income countries used the internet, and the speed of their connection was typically only a small fraction of that in wealthier countries. As businesses in technologically advanced countries integrate generative AI into their products and services, less than half of the businesses in many low- and middle-income countries have an internet connection. The growing digital divide is exacerbating the poverty and productivity gaps between richer and poorer economies. The Digital Progress and Trends Report series will track global digitalization progress and highlight policy trends, debates, and implications for low- and middle-income countries. The series adds to the global efforts to study the progress and trends of digitalization in two main ways: · By compiling, curating, and analyzing data from diverse sources to present a comprehensive picture of digitalization in low- and middle-income countries, including in-depth analyses on understudied topics. · By developing insights on policy opportunities, challenges, and debates and reflecting the perspectives of various stakeholders and the World Bank’s operational experiences. This report, the first in the series, aims to inform evidence-based policy making and motivate action among internal and external audiences and stakeholders. The report will bring global attention to high-performing countries that have valuable experience to share as well as to areas where efforts will need to be redoubled.Publication Handbook for Urban Heat Management in the Global South(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-09-02)Extreme heat is reshaping life in cities. For millions of people, especially in fast-growing urban areas of the Global South, higher temperatures are making it harder to earn a living, attend school, access healthcare, or move safely throughout the day. Extreme urban heat and lack of sustainable cooling is threatening productivity, deepening inequality, and increasing the risk of displacement when communities can no longer cope. Cities cannot afford to treat extreme heat as a seasonal inconvenience. Without action, heat will erode livelihoods and overwhelm urban infrastructure and services. It will fuel unemployment, drive internal and cross-border migration, and put massive demands on energy systems. Cities must act now to manage rising temperatures before it is too late. The Handbook on Urban Heat Management in the Global South, developed by the World Bank in partnership with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), offers a practical response. It brings together real examples and strategies from cities that are already tackling extreme heat. It focuses on powerful solutions that are feasible, affordable, and easy to adapt - especially those that expand access to accessible, sustainable cooling.Publication World Bank Annual Report 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-25)This annual report, which covers the period from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, has been prepared by the Executive Directors of both the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA)—collectively known as the World Bank—in accordance with the respective bylaws of the two institutions. Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, has submitted this report, together with the accompanying administrative budgets and audited financial statements, to the Board of Governors.Publication World Development Report 2021(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2021-03-24)Today’s unprecedented growth of data and their ubiquity in our lives are signs that the data revolution is transforming the world. And yet much of the value of data remains untapped. Data collected for one purpose have the potential to generate economic and social value in applications far beyond those originally anticipated. But many barriers stand in the way, ranging from misaligned incentives and incompatible data systems to a fundamental lack of trust. World Development Report 2021: Data for Better Lives explores the tremendous potential of the changing data landscape to improve the lives of poor people, while also acknowledging its potential to open back doors that can harm individuals, businesses, and societies. To address this tension between the helpful and harmful potential of data, this Report calls for a new social contract that enables the use and reuse of data to create economic and social value, ensures equitable access to that value, and fosters trust that data will not be misused in harmful ways. This Report begins by assessing how better use and reuse of data can enhance the design of public policies, programs, and service delivery, as well as improve market efficiency and job creation through private sector growth. Because better data governance is key to realizing this value, the Report then looks at how infrastructure policy, data regulation, economic policies, and institutional capabilities enable the sharing of data for their economic and social benefits, while safeguarding against harmful outcomes. The Report concludes by pulling together the pieces and offering an aspirational vision of an integrated national data system that would deliver on the promise of producing high-quality data and making them accessible in a way that promotes their safe use and reuse. By examining these opportunities and challenges, the Report shows how data can benefit the lives of all people, but particularly poor people in low- and middle-income countries.Publication State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-05-21)This report provides an up-to-date overview of existing and emerging carbon pricing instruments around the world, including international, national, and subnational initiatives. It also investigates trends surrounding the development and implementation of carbon pricing instruments and some of the drivers seen over the past year. Specifically, this report covers carbon taxes, emissions trading systems (ETSs), and crediting mechanisms. Key topics covered in the 2024 report include uptake of ETSs and carbon taxes in low- and middle- income economies, sectoral coverage of ETSs and carbon taxes, and the use of crediting mechanisms as part of the policy mix.