A Survey of Agencies on Mitigating Extreme Heat Exposure through Novel Materials and Improved Pedestrian Infrastructure Design

<p><span>This is the dataset of the National Center of Sustainable Transportation (NCST) project titled <em>A Survey of Agencies on Mitigating Extreme Heat Exposure through Novel Materials and Improved Pedestrian Infrastructure Design</em>.</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span>The abstract of the project is as follows:</span></p> <p><span>Extreme heat is the leading cause of weather-related mortality in the United States, and extreme heat events are projected to continue increase in geographic extent, frequency, and severity in the United States as climate change progresses.<span>&nbsp; </span>Transportation infrastructure is a significant driver of the urban heat island (UHI) effects and of extreme heat events within micro-environments.<span>&nbsp; </span>Efforts to mitigate UHI impacts often focus on reflecting incoming solar radiation (i.e., increasing surface albedo) and providing shade (e.g., planting street trees).<span>&nbsp; </span>However, alterative and novel materials (ANM) for pavements that reduce heat storage, and green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) that promotes evaporative cooling, can provide additional heat mitigation pathways.<span>&nbsp; </span>Sidewalks facilitate non-motorized transportation, and are relatively low-risk, low-cost, and have simple structural requirements compared to other transportation infrastructure.<span>&nbsp; </span>Hence, sidewalks and adjacent planting strips can offer a logical test bed for new materials and designs.<span>&nbsp; </span>With the thermal comfort, safety, and efficiency of users in mind, environmentally responsible designs can also minimize energy embedded in construction materials and help maintain natural ecosystem processes.<span>&nbsp; </span>Although ANMs hold significant promise for heat effect mitigation, they have not yet achieved widespread implementation.<span>&nbsp; </span>This project reviewed the growing literature related to the application of ANMs and GSI to reduce UHI effects and implemented a survey of urban planners and public works engineers to assess the current and planned use of these strategies.<span>&nbsp; </span>The survey also asked respondents to identify barriers to implementing heat mitigation strategies within their pedestrian infrastructure systems.<span>&nbsp; </span>This report summarizes the survey methods, survey results, findings related to selection of mitigation alternatives, and respondent-reported issues associated with implementation (regulatory requirements, design standards, economic feasibility, etc.) for an anticipated reading audience of urban policy makers, planners, and practitioners.</span></p>