Abstract
This article presents findings from a study on residential development patterns and urban heat island formation in the Atlanta, Georgia, metropolitan region. High-resolution thermal imagery collected by the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) is used in conjunction with parcel-level tax records to examine the interaction between the design of single-family residential parcels and the emission of radiant heat energy. Results from a path analysis illustrate that lower density patterns of residential development contribute more radiant heat energy to surface heat island formation than higher density development patterns within the Atlanta region. Compact moderate-to-high-density new construction and area-based tree ordinances are recommended as policy strategies for mitigating the effects of urban development on regional climate change.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 186 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Journal | Journal of the American Planning Association |
| Volume | 67 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2001 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
Stone is a doctoral candidate in the City and Regional Planning Program at the Georgia Institute of Technology. His dissertation research focuses on the interaction between urban development patterns and regional climate change and is funded by a Science to Achieve Results Fellowship from the Environmental Protection Agency. Rodgers is the director of the Air Quality Laboratory in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. This research was supported through the STAR Graduate Fellowship Program. This article represents the views of the authors. It was not edited in any way by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, nor subjected to the agency’s peer review process. Mention of trade names or specific applications of research or technologies does not imply endorsement or acceptance by U.S. EPA.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| U.S. Environmental Protection Agency | |
| Air Force Research Laboratory | |
| Georgia Institute of Technology | |
| Environmental Protection Agency | |
| Starmed | |
| School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering, University of Adelaide |
