Urban Heat Island Management Study Dallas 2017

The Dallas Urban Heat Island Management Study, commissioned by the Texas Trees Foundation, is among the first comprehensive heat management assessments focused on a major city and constitutes one component of a broader effort to enhance environmental quality, improve health and livability, and reduce heat mortality in Dallas. 

This study assesses the extent to which the Dallas area is warming due to urban development and deforestation, estimates the extent to which rising temperatures are impacting public health, and provides a scientific foundation for the development of urban heat management plans and programs. 

The study is presented in four sections, through which we: 1) Provide an overview of the science of the urban heat island phenomenon, its implications for human health, and how urban temperatures can be moderated through urban design, urban forestry, and other strategies; 2) Present our methodology for estimating the potential benefits of specific heat management strategies for lowering temperatures across Dallas and lowering the risk of heat illness during periods of extreme heat; 3) Report the results of our heat management assessment; and, 4) Provide a set of neighborhood-specific findings on the potential for lessened heat risk through the adoption of cool materials, vegetative, and integrated strategies.