Shading needs to become a leading priority in today’s urban planning endeavors, say experts like Ariane Middel, a Fulton Schools assistant professor and urban climatologist. Proper shading can have a significant impact on easing the severity of the urban heat island effect that is becoming more intense in larger cities like Phoenix. Middel says those efforts must go beyond simply providing more trees for shading purposes. It’s also critical to design buildings and other structures in ways that provide shading in public places where people walk, gather or exercise outdoors. Middel is pictured at right with her mobile laboratory, a wagon equipped with meteorological sensing devices.