City of Somerville header
File #: 212224    Version: 1
Type: Order Status: Expired
File created: 7/8/2021 In control: City Council
On agenda: 7/8/2021 Final action: 7/8/2021
Enactment date: 7/8/2021 Enactment #: 212224
Title: That the Commissioner of Public Works, the Director of Infrastructure and Asset Management and the Director of Sustainability and Environment pilot a project to reduce the heat island effect on asphalt using materials to cool it.
Sponsors: Katjana Ballantyne

  Agenda Text

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That the Commissioner of Public Works, the Director of Infrastructure and Asset Management and the Director of Sustainability and Environment pilot a project to reduce the heat island effect on asphalt using materials to cool it.

 

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Official Text

That the Commissioner of Public Works, the Director of Infrastructure and Asset Management and the Director of the Office of Sustainability and Environment pilot a project which would reduce heat island effect on asphalt using materials to cool, and address the increasing temperature driven by climate change. The city should explore using reflective coatings which lower the absorption of heat from the sun and material coating with a Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) of 36 compared to conventional asphalt that has an SRI of around 5. The higher the SRI, the cooler the material is likely to become in the sunshine, which in turn reduces how hot the air temperature in the area becomes.