Extreme heat has joined the list of critical vulnerabilities with which NYC must grapple. We didn’t need the NYC Panel on Climate Change’s 2015 report to the Mayor to note the worsening warming trend. In fact, 2014 was the hottest year on earth since record-keeping began, and the 10 warmest years have all occurred since 1997. Meteorologists forecast that NYC will gain 7 degrees on average this century, which will alter urban livability and ecosystem health.
With increased global urbanization and hotter cities, a central challenge for architect-urbanists will be to configure healthy micro-climates for compact communities.
Jeffrey Raven, FAIA, who has focused on configuring urban micro-climates for years – notably “hot cities” – will present current practice and applied research in climate-resilient urban design: what is current thinking and practice, and who’s doing it effectively? This emerging practice integrates climate science, natural systems, and compact urban form to configure dynamic, desirable, and healthy communities. Jeffrey Raven directs the Graduate Program in Urban & Regional Design at New York Institute of Technology. His Urban Climate Lab explores the intersection of urban form, low-carbon cities, and climate to prepare future practitioners confronting a rapidly urbanizing world threatened by climate change.
In 2015, AIANY’s Design for Risk & Reconstruction Committee (DfRR) will focus several programs on extreme heat. DfRR continues to investigate ways to meet challenges to the region, such as hurricanes, rising water, terrorism, earthquakes, and pandemics. Heat waves, considered the most deadly threat, are coming to public awareness and will undoubtedly dominate design thinking going forward.
