Conference Agenda

Urban areas are faced by the impacts of urbanization and climate change, including extreme rainfall events and intensified urban heat. To address these challenges, blue-green infrastructure (BGI) is being increasingly implemented, primarily for stormwater management. However, the additional multifunctional benefits, particularly heat mitigation, are often overlooked. This study aims to quantify the heat mitigation potential of various BGI elements primarily designed for stormwater management, using three neighbourhoods from a town near Zurich, Switzerland (Fehraltorf) as case studies. Utilizing the Urban Tethys-Chloris (UT&C) microclimate model, over 20 BGI scenarios designed for stormwater management were simulated, including combinations of bioretention cells, green roofs, porous pavements, and ponds. Preliminary results show that bioretention cells and porous pavements replacing impervious surfaces at ground level provide the greatest temperature reduction during peak heat. In contrast, greening roofs and installing bioretention cells on existing vegetation leads to negligible cooling or even slightly warmer conditions. The urban district exhibited the highest potential for cooling from BGI, likely due to its larger proportion of impervious surfaces. These findings demonstrate that BGI used for stormwater management can provide heat mitigation in the urban canyon, albeit they are installed at the ground level in place of impervious surfaces.