ASU researchers are working with the city of Phoenix Office of Sustainability and Street Transportation Department to reduce heat gain in its denser urban areas. A major focus of the effort involves using light-colored reflective coatings to pave streets. The city has been applying the “cool pavements” to roads and finding the material does reduce radiant temperatures at street level to a significant degree. The Cool Pavement Pilot Program is producing results that are exactly what city officials are hoping for, says Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego. The ASU team involved in the endeavor includes faculty members Ariane Middel, Kamil Kaloush, Jennifer Vanos, David Hondula and David Sailor, who between them have various affiliations with the Fulton Schools, the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning and the School of Sustainability. A second phase of the project will study the impacts of using a darker street coating with higher reflectivity.

See Also: To Beat the Heat, Phoenix Paints Its Streets Gray, Scientific American/E&E News, October 3

Is lighter-colored pavement helping cool down Phoenix city streets? Channel 12 News NBC-Phoenix, October 3