IN-PERSON Manchester Livable Cities

Abstract

Cities are rapidly becoming the epicentres of the climate crisis. While climate change is driving several adverse impacts, heat stress exposure is a widespread and complex problem. The Heat Watch South Africa project mapped Tshwane, in South Africa, to take an urban heat island exposure snapshot during a heatwave event in March 2024. The findings reveal temperature differentials of up to 6.1˚C between less affluent, often informal, neighbourhoods and more affluent tree-lined suburbs. The research project, reported in this paper, undertook a systematic literature to explore the benefits and constraints of the built environment, specifically the public realm, to implement alternative shading strategies in addressing the thermo-microclimatic inequality in Southern African cities. The review aimed to identify strategies and assess the research findings in the region. It followed a qualitative thematic analysis to evaluate and map the research, identify gaps for future inquiries, and convey the general state-of-the-art of this research field in Southern Africa. The findings indicate a significant increase in research publications on urban heat stress exposure, with the main focus either on high-level city planning or household-level considerations addressing indoor heat stress exposure. A concerning gap in the discourse is the incorporation of public spaces as part of heat adaptation planning on a neighbourhood level and also improving their performance to lower heat stress exposure. The findings from this study presents the state-of-the-art snapshot of shading provision and cooling strategies in Southern African cities and informs future studies and climate action projects in this region.