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<\/p>\nThere are about 10,000 acres of abandoned buildings and 45,000 acres of vacant paved lots\u00a0in Houston, which drives up intense heat in a\u00a0city that has long grappled with the reputation \u2014 and economic impact \u2014 of its hot, humid climate.<\/p>\n
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\n Courtesy of Texas A&M College of Architecture\n <\/p>\n
\n A thermal camera image of a commercial area in Houston, where red marks the hottest areas and purple the coolest.\n <\/p>\n
The data comes from a study by Texas A&M University researcher Dingding Ren<\/a>, which\u00a0used drone images and NASA<\/a> satellite data to find that abandoned buildings and concrete\u00a0lots can raise land surface temperatures by as much as 20 degrees Fahrenheit.<\/p>\n As climate change<\/a> also drives up average temperatures \u2014 contributing to the\u00a0past\u00a0decade being the 10 warmest years on record<\/a> \u2014 hot spots threaten residents with heat-related illnesses, hinder walkability and make public features like sidewalks dangerously hot.<\/p>\n High temperatures\u00a0can\u00a0also deter tourism and in-migration and\u00a0reduce economic output<\/a>.<\/p>\n The State of Downtown address<\/a> given by Downtown Houston<\/a>+ CEO Kristopher Larson<\/a> last week focused on how the perception and treatment of Houston\u2019s heat impacts the city. Past generations built massive, enclosed structures to avoid it, like the tunnels underneath Downtown office buildings.<\/p>\n \u201cWe set out to build a climate-controlled city, inclusive of elements that regarded the outdoors as a problem to be solved,\u201d Larson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n But now Houston\u2019s leaders want to embrace its outdoor offerings and draw more people to street level. Residents and visitors flock to\u00a0activated outdoor spaces, exemplified by the more than 3 million annual visits to Discovery Green<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHoustonians want active green spaces, even if it’s hot out,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Vacant land and abandoned structures retain more heat during the daytime and experience higher temperatures at night because concrete absorbs heat and releases it slowly,\u00a0according to the A&M study. But vacant lots with vegetation can help cool surrounding areas.<\/p>\n While they aren\u2019t centered on the heat island effect, the city\u00a0in recent years has\u00a0had initiatives to demolish hundreds of dangerous, often vacant, buildings<\/a>, and city leaders are\u00a0looking to tear down<\/a>\u00a0three dilapidated Midtown-area buildings ahead of the FIFA World Cup next year.<\/p>\n There are\u00a0more direct attempts to combat the effect of the built environment on the ambient temperature. The city plans to\u00a0encourage\u00a0building owners and developers\u00a0to install heat-deterring features like light-colored roofs, using guidelines, incentives and\/or mandates, according to the Resilient Houston plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n The city is also working to combat the intensified heat that comes with a lack of vegetation.\u00a0<\/p>\n Downtown Houston\u2019s Public Realm Action Plan aims to draw more people to street level by creating more comfortable microclimates with\u00a0added tree canopy and shade structures<\/a>. This will soon transform McKinney, Texas and Preston streets, Larson said.<\/p>\n Resilient Houston, a strategy released in 2020,\u00a0set a target<\/a>\u00a0of planting 4.6 million new native trees in the city by 2030. The initiative focuses on areas with the strongest urban heat island effects, air pollution, minimal\u00a0tree cover and a high concentration of pedestrians and bicyclists.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n