Project Name:
Urban Heat Island index
Client:
Aga Khan Agency for Urban Habitat
Year:
2024
Project Area:
80 sq.km
This project, developed as part of the Aga Khan Agency for Urban Habitat International Competition, with my team presents a robust framework to diagnose and mitigate Urban Heat Island effects in Mumbai. We structured a methodology to assess built form typologies, evaluated cooling gaps, and Urban Heat emissions. The work demonstrates advanced capability in UHI assessment methods, spatial categorization, and mitigation planning.
Through this project, we successfully developed a comprehensive and replicable framework for diagnosing and mitigating the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect within the complex urban fabric of Mumbai. The initiative's strength lies in its integrated approach, moving systematically from analysis to actionable strategy. Together, these demonstrate a comprehensive approach that links technical evaluation with actionable, context-sensitive solutions for UHI mitigation.
The project is built on a comprehensive methodology, starting with climatic contextualization and culminating in a bespoke UHI Ranking Index based on Local Climate Zone (LCZ) parameters. Deploying a custom scoring system, we quantified the UHI impact across different neighborhood typologies. This assessment identified ‘Mid Rise High Density’ areas as carrying a very high thermal burden, validating the methodology's diagnostic precision in pinpointing critical hotspots.
To complement the quantitative data, We conducted neighborhood-level gap assessments to visualize localized contributors, heat-trapping roads, vehicular emissions, and poor green cover. By contextualizing UHI in community realities, we translated technical indicators into on-ground vulnerabilities, refining spatial observation and evidence interpretation skills.
For high-rise zones, the proposed strategies are technologically driven. The project advocates for climate-responsive urban design informed by wind-flow simulations, along with integrating green building skins and permeable surfaces to systemically mitigate heat gain.
To address the acutely affected mid-rise areas, the proposal includes interventions at the public-realm scale. These feature the pedestrianization of commercial streets and deployment of nature-based solutions like green walls to reduce ambient and surface temperatures.
In low-rise neighborhoods, the strategic focus shifts to accessible, high-impact retrofits. The proposal includes community-level strategies like cool roofs with high-albedo paints and passive cooling through vegetation to improve thermal comfort in vulnerable homes and workshops.
