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Urbanization and warming of Phoenix (Arizona, USA): Impacts, feedbacks and mitigation

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Abstract

This paper examines the impacts, feedbacks, and mitigation of the urban heat island in Phoenix, Arizona (USA). At Sky Harbor Airport, urbanization has increased the nighttime minimum temperature by 5°C and the average daily temperatures by 3.1°C. Urban warming has increased the number of “misery hours per day” for humans, which may have important social consequences. Other impacts include (1) increased energy consumption for heating and cooling of buildings, (2) increased heat stress (but decreased cold stress) for plants, (3) reduced quality of cotton fiber and reduced dairy production on the urban fringe, and (4) a broadening of the seasonal thermal window for arthropods. Climate feedback loops associated with evapotranspiration, energy production and consumption associated with increased air conditioning demand, and land conversion are discussed. Urban planning and design policy could be redesigned to mitigate urban warming, and several cities in the region are incorporating concerns regarding urban warming into planning codes and practices. The issue is timely and important, because most of the world's human population growth over the next 30 years will occur in cities in warm climates.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Water Resources Center, University of Minnesota, 173 McNeal Hall, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA

    Lawrence A. Baker

  2. Department of Geography, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-0104, USA

    Anthony J. Brazel

  3. Office of Climatology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1508, USA

    Nancy Selover

  4. Department of Plant Biology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1601, USA

    Chris Martin

  5. Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79409-3131, USA

    Nancy McIntyre

  6. School of Architecture, University of Texas, Austin, TX, 78712-7500, USA

    Frederick R. Steiner

  7. Center for Environmental Studies, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-3211, USA

    Amy Nelson

  8. Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Minnesota, 89 Church St. SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455

    Laura Musacchio

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  1. Lawrence A. Baker
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Baker, L.A., Brazel, A.J., Selover, N. et al. Urbanization and warming of Phoenix (Arizona, USA): Impacts, feedbacks and mitigation. Urban Ecosystems 6, 183–203 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026101528700

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