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Impact of Increased Urban Albedo on Heat-Related Health: The Case Study of the Greater Toronto Area

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Urban Overheating: Heat Mitigation and the Impact on Health

Part of the book series: Advances in Sustainability Science and Technology ((ASST))

Abstract

Applying urban heat island mitigation techniques requires a holistic understanding of their influences on the urban environment and community health. A novel approach is presented in this chapter by integrating microclimate simulations and correlation analyzes to define the impact of increasing the albedo of urban surfaces on urban health and thermal comfort. The application included enhancing the albedo of urban surfaces including roads, roofs, and building walls for a selected urban microclimate in the Greater Toronto Area. The study aimed to correlate the environmental and health responses by monitoring the historical meteorological and mortality and hospitalization data in the study region and to predict the outdoor thermal comfort due to changing albedo values. The results recommended wise implementation with careful considerations of albedo enhancements regarding urban thermal comfort. The hourly investigation proved the enhanced thermal comfort during specific periods of the day. The reported enhancements in outdoor thermal comfort led to an expected improvement in the instant health responses of the urban inhabitants.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Architectural Science, Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON, M5B 2K3, Canada

    Mohamed Dardir & Umberto Berardi

  2. School of Environment, Enterprise, and Development, Faculty of Environment,, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada

    Jeffrey Wilson

Authors
  1. Mohamed Dardir
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  2. Umberto Berardi
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  3. Jeffrey Wilson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Umberto Berardi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Nasrin Aghamohammadi

  2. School of Built Environment, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Mat Santamouris

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Dardir, M., Berardi, U., Wilson, J. (2022). Impact of Increased Urban Albedo on Heat-Related Health: The Case Study of the Greater Toronto Area. In: Aghamohammadi, N., Santamouris, M. (eds) Urban Overheating: Heat Mitigation and the Impact on Health. Advances in Sustainability Science and Technology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4707-0_10

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