Human-environment interactions
Study 3: Climate change - Urban heat - A local study
Cities tend to be hotter than surrounding bushland and rural areas. This is known as the urban heat island effect. It is the result of complex interactions between the built environment and natural processes. Urban heat islands are increasing the effects of climate change, making higher temperatures and extreme hot weather events more severe and difficult to manage, placing people and the environment at risk.
This program will investigate urban heat in your school and/or your local area. Students will use methodologies and equipment designed by RMIT University Sustainable Building Innovation laboratory and UNSW Sydney Faculty of Built Environment High Performance Architecture to measure microclimate data.
Students will measure ambiant air temperature, mean radiant temperature, surface temperatures, wind speed and relative humidity. Students will use an online tool to calculate outdoor thermal comfort, an indicator of a person's thermal stress.
The data collected can be used to support your school or local council in mitigating the impacts of urban heat.
Year 12 - Rural and urban places
Combine Year 11 and Year 12 students for a fieldwork investigation into urban overheating in large cities. The fieldwork is site neutral allowing year 12 students to understand challenges shared by a global urban population.
Supporting resource
Stage 6 Geography - urban overheating - Google site
Location