Book Chapter: Urban population vulnerability to climate extremes: mitigating urban heat through technology and water-sensitive urban design.

Abstract

Australia recently endured what was arguably its worst drought in 200 years. The 'Millennium Drought' lasted from 1999 until 2009, producing acute water shortages for several major Australian cities. Towards the end of the drought an extreme heat wave with temperatures approaching 50 C claimed the lives of several hundred people in Melbourne and Adelaide. One outcome of the extreme conditions was that the spectre of climate change and its impacts became very real for most Australians and contributed to the 2007 signing of the Kyoto Protocol by the Australian Government. Issues of extreme heat and water security also led to increased interest in adapting Australian cities to climate change. These concerns ultimately led to the establishment of the Australian Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Water Sensitive Cities, a $110 million research initiative to utilise storm water in Australian cities to create cooler and more liveable environments with increased levels of water security. This paper provides an overview of the work being undertaken within the urban climate program of the CRC to identify heat-health vulnerability in our cities and to evaluate the efficacy of irrigated green infrastructure to produce more liveable environments. This papers discusses some of the early research outputs that involve measurement, modelling and remote sensing at a range of scales in Australian cities.

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