Policy recommendations to increase urban heat stress resilience
Section snippets
Urban heatwaves and their negative impacts
Heatwaves have become a growing concern primarily due to their significant negative impact on public health and well-being (Zaidi and Pelling, 2015), in addition to impacts on urban infrastructure and economic activity (Zuo et al., 2014). The most extensively studied heatwave event, with regard to its death toll, was the European series of heatwaves in 2003. During that summer, the deaths of 70,000 people were associated with excess heat stress (Robine et al., 2008).
The alarming danger of
Policy support for heat stress resilience
A policy framework summarised by Fenna (1998) was adopted to classify the recommended policy responses. After Fenna (1998), Maddison and Denniss (2013) differentiated four main groups of policy instruments, with these instruments used by governments to achieve specific objectives. The instruments are grouped into four categories comprising: information and engagement, incentives and disincentives, government provision and demonstration, and regulations. Information and engagement refer to
Conclusion
Climate change is not simply a matter of forecasting since it has been happening (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2014; Major Cities Unit, 2015). Mitigation strategies can only decrease the intensity of this process. Both the intensity and frequency of heatwaves have been increasing in Australia, and globally, due to climate change with a predicted further increase in the future (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2014). Thus, adaptation to increasing heat stress due to
Acknowledgement
This research was funded by the CRC for Low Carbon Living Ltd. supported by the Cooperative Research Centres program, an Australian Government initiative, three Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarships and a PG 083920 (Research Themes Investment Scheme) Seed Funding 2017 by the University of South Australia.
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