The presentation proposes strategies to mitigate the urban heat island effect in the Western Parkland City of Sydney. At the district level, it recommends tweaking urban geometry, managing building material colors, and reducing vehicle dependence. At the street level, it suggests increasing tree canopy cover to 30% through strategic planting and climate-sensitive zoning. It also calls for integrated water and land use planning through blue-green infrastructure. At the site level, it discusses promoting passive cooling in buildings through natural ventilation, airtight designs, and considerate material selection. The strategies aim to influence planning policies and development controls to facilitate a cooler urban environment.

1. Presentation to the GSC on
the Western Parkland City
Atif Bilgrami, Kimberley Crofts, Matthew Jessup, Talia Rappoport, Rachel Zeng
PLAN7148 – STRATEGIC SPATIAL PLANNING – 2019

2. Western
Sydney is hot
The Western City District
experiences more hot days
than the Eastern City District
(GSC, 2019)
6-10°C higher temps during
extreme events in summer
compared to eastern Sydney
(Sydney Water, 2017)
Heat-related mortality can be
up to three times higher in
the west during heatwaves
(Sydney Water, 2017)
Number of days over 35°C
July 2018 to June 2019
SOURCE: GSC (2019)

3. RURAL SUBURBAN URBAN SUBURBAN RURAL
Urban Heat Island Effect
Illustration based on Klinenberg (2003).

4. Waste heat
from cars,
streets,
buildings &
air con Urban
overheating
6-10°C higher temps in
cities compared to
surrounding rural zones
Lack of
urban tree
canopy
16% tree canopy
cover in west Higher
mortality
Rates
300% greater during
heatwaves
The problems
SOURCE: GSC (2019); SYDNEY WATER (2017)
Reduced
wind
penetration
Heat-
absorbing
construction
materials

5. Western Sydney is a catastrophic
scenario waiting to happen
“
”Mat Santamouris, Professor of High Performance Architecture UNSW (2017)

6. How might we
use the
built environment to
create a cool city
in Sydney’s west?

7. Sydney’s strategic line of sight
SOURCE: Strategic Planning Toolkit – NSW Department of Planning (2019)
Our focus will be on
interventions from the District
through to the Site level

8. District Street Site
External shading • Cool materials •
Green roofs & façades • Insulation •
Ventilation • Heat-resistant
construction materials • Green walls •
Fog and dew harvesting •
Building orientation • Passive cooling •
Well positioned windows • Solar glazing
Cool pavements • Water sprinkling •
Fountains & Ponds • Street trees •
Permeable pavements • Rain gardens
• Bioswales • Evaporative water
cooling •
Street orientation • Climate-informed
design • Blue and green infrastructure
• Preventing urban sprawl •
Water-sensitive urban design •
Irrigating open space •
Urban ventilation

9. District

10. Tweak our urban geography to orient
street layout to consider wind patterns
and the sun’s path. Locate parks and water
features to increase cool air
Design cool buildings. Building shapes
designed to increase natural ventilation.
Use green roofs and green façades to
reduce ambient air temperature
Reduce our dependence on private
vehicles. Lessen the waste heat generated
from asphalt and concrete.
IMAGE SOURCE: KLEIN-ROSENTHAL, RAVEN, 2017GREEN
PATH
GREEN
ROOF
URBAN WATER
DRAINAGE
District cooling

11. Heat mapping in Campbelltown
IMAGE: Heat mapping undertaken by UNSW of properties in Willowdale, Campbelltown

12. Walkable cities
IMAGE: www.cryoflametechnologies.comIMAGE: www.archinect.com

13. Street

14. Tree Canopy Cover Target
30%
OUR TARGET WESTERN SYDNEY NOW
18%
NSW 2020 TARGET
20%
SYDNEY AVERAGE 2015
15%
Source: Coutts, A. and Tapper, N., 2017. Trees for a Cool City: Guidelines for optimised tree placement The design of the public realm to enhance urban microclimates (Project B3.2) B3.2.-1-2017
Image Source::: 202020 Vision, 2014. “Where are all the trees? - An analysis of tree canopy cover in urban Australia”
1.Location
2.Volume
3.Smart
Zoning
Proposed LEP
Assessment

15. Water
Sensitive
Urban
Planning Illustration by Chris Newton, Director and Principal Landscape Architect of Department of Water and Environmental Regulation
(DWER) at the 10th International Conference on Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD 2018) at Crown Towers, Perth.
Built Form Water efficient built form
Landscape Landscapes designed to reduce irrigation
Recycle
System
Recycled water from buildings sustains
plantings to improve micro-climate
Natural
Surface
Planted swales treat runoff before it
reaches waterways
People People connect to water

16. Vegetation
system
Hydrological
function
Blue-Green
Infrastructure
(BGI)
PORTLAND
USA
SINGAPORE
GERMANY
Source: Dreiseitl, H., et. al. 2016. “Enhancing Blue-Green
and Social Performance in High Density Urban
Environments” Liveable Cities Lab.

17. Site

18. Natural ventilation of buildings can
decrease the need for air conditioning.
Benefits:
- Reduced carbon emission
- Reduced cost and maintenance
- Promotes clean air circulation
Natural Ventilation
Source: SINGH, ET AL., (2011)
Source: Tan and Deng, (2017)
40% of
the time

19. Building Construction
Source: Foster & Partner, (2014) “Masdar Institute Brief”
Highly sealed building
(airtight)
Ventilated canopy
(Natural ventilation points)
Solar screens
(Low thermal mass)
Highly insulated

20. Ventilation
IMAGE: RIM Creation. Licensed under Creative Commons

21. Pavings cover 25-50% of typical urban settings and are key contributors
to the UHI effect
Pavements
Consider the use of cool and
non-traditional pavements
Source: Osmond & Sharifi, (2017). “Guide to Urban Cooling Strategies” Source: Osmond & Sharifi, (2017). “Guide to Urban
Cooling Strategies”

22. Cool pavements
IMAGE: Custom Stoneworks

23. - Reducing Solar gain but optimising daylight
- Taking advantage of ‘free shading’
Windows & Facades
Source: Foster & Partner, (2014) “Masdar Institute Brief”
Solar Irradiance

24. Response from our
community representative

25. Stuttgart
Planning principles to
alleviate urban heat:
Vegetation should surround
developments to facilitate
air exchange
Valleys and hillsides serve
as air delivery corridors and
should not be developed
Urban sprawl is to be
avoided
All large trees protected
with a tree preservation
order.
IMAGE SOURCE: STUTTGART CLIMATE ATLAS

26. Thank you
Atif Bilgrami, Kimberley Crofts, Matthew Jessup, Talia Rappoport, Rachel Zeng
REFERENCES
Arup, 2018. Cities Alive: Rethinking Cities in Arid Environments. Arup, Dubai.
Adaptive Circular Cities Project, 2016. “Designing green and blue infrastructure to
support healthy urban living” http://www.adaptivecircularcities.com/
wp-content/uploads/2016/07/T02-ACC-WP3-Green-Blue-infrastructure-for-
Healthy-Urban-Living-Final-report-160701.pdf
Climate Adapt (2016). Stuttgart: combating the heat island effect and poor air
quality with green ventilation corridors.
https://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/metadata/case-studies/stuttgart-combat
ing-the-heat-island-effect-and-poor-air-quality-with-green-ventilation-corridors/
#adapt_options_anchor
Dreiseitl, H., et. al. 2016. “Enhancing Blue-Green and Social Performance in High
Density Urban Environments” Liveable Cities Lab.
https://www.zu.de/lehrstuehle/soziooekonomik/assets/pdf/Ramboll_Woerlen
-et-al_BGI_Final-Report_small-1.pdf
Foster & Partner, 2014. Masdar Institute Brief
GSC, 2019. The Pulse of Greater Sydney. The Greater Sydney Commission.
Klein-Rosenthal, Raven (2017). Urban Heat And Urban Design —
An Opportunity To Transform In NYC. www.sallan.org/Snapshot/2017/07/
urban_heat_and_urban_design_an_opportunity_to_transform_in_nyc.php#.XUp
RiJMzaL4
Julien, 2019. ‘There’s a simple way to ditch air-conditioning when it’s
scorching hot. But we’re ignoring it’ in Fast Company.
Klinenberg. 2003. Heat wave. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
NSW Department of Planning, 2019. Strategic Planning Toolkit.
www.planning.nsw.gov.au/Plans-for-your-area/Local-Planning-and-Zonin
g/Strategic-Planning-Toolkit
Osmond, P. & Sharifi, E., 2017. “Guide to Urban Cooling Strategies” CRC Low
Carbon Living.
http://www.lowcarbonlivingcrc.com.au/sites/all/files/publications_file_att
achments/rp2024_guide_to_urban_cooling_strategies_2017_web.pdf
Santamouris (2017). Quoted in ‘Too Hot in the City’. UNSW magazine. Issue 2.
https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/art-architecture-design/
too-hot-city
Singh, M., Mahapatra, S. & Atreya, S. 2011. ‘Solar passive features in
vernacular architecture of North-East India’, Solar Energy, vol. 85, no. 9.
Sydney Water, UNSW, RC for Low Carbon Living, 2017. ‘Cooling Western
Sydney: A strategic study on the role of water in mitigating urban heat in
Western Sydney’. Sydney Water Corporation, Sydney.
TAN, Z. & DENG, X. 2017. Assessment of Natural Ventilation Potential for
Residential Buildings across Different Climate Zones in Australia.
Atmosphere, 8, 177.

27. THE SCRIPT

28.
The Cool City - ​Presentation script
INTRO
Kimberley
Why mitigating the heat island effect will be crucial for the Western Parkland
City.
We represent a consortium of local councils from the Western City District
We have come together today to present our vision for the development of the
Western Parkland City.
As you would all know, western Sydney is hot. It is 6-10 degrees hotter than the
east and has more consecutive hot days in summer heatwaves.
Humans have little time to recover when there are sustained temperatures
above or around 40 degrees.
This increases the likelihood of heat-related deaths, especially for the elderly.
This is related to the Urban Heat Island Effect, a phenomenon whereby an urban
area is significantly warmer than surrounding areas.
Main contributing factors are reduced vegetation, waste heat from hard
surfaces like roads, reduced wind penetration, and heat-absorbing construction
materials
Urban overheating will be one of the most severe conditions that humanity will
face in the future, and it will be very severe in the west of Sydney.
As UNSW professor Mat Santamouris says “Western Sydney is a catastrophic
scenario waiting to happen”
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So how might we develop in our LGAs, in a sustainable way that actually cools
the city down?
One thing is clear. We cannot continue to design and build our cities in ways
which increase urban heat. The development of the Western City is our chance
to do things differently.
We should design the Western Parkland City to meet the local conditions whilst
planning for future climate changes.
We have used the NSW Department of Planning’s Strategic Line of Sight
framework to categorise our recommendations
Talia will introduce district-level interventions. Rachel will look at what can be
done at the street level. Atif will explore the built form at site level.
We would also like to welcome Matthew Jessup to this meeting. Matt is a
western Sydney community member and is here to add his perspective to these
ideas at the end.
THE CITY
TALIA
It is important to note that the factors that contribute to the UHI effect vary
dramatically from district to district. This is why modelling of each city is
necessary - as what may work for one city, may not work for another.
The Western City Parkland is ​ t​herefore the perfect opportunity to enforce
strong planning policies that aim to mitigate the heat island effect and ensure
the sustainability and liveability of not only our cities but of humanity for
generations to come.
In the case of Sydney, studies have shown that there are 3 things in particular
that can be manipulated at the planning level to effectively cool our city, these
are:
- Tweaking our Urban Geometry;
- Managing the colour of new buildings and their materials; and
- Our dependence on vehicles.
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30.
We propose that future Development Applications should include a section that
assesses how any new development may impact the HIE of a city by
considering the orientation, aspect, dimensions and spacing of the proposed
development in relation to other buildings.
If the results are insufficient, councils should have the right to issue RFI’s asking
for the development to be tweaked until it ensures that it does not obstruct the
city’s ability to receive optimal shade from the sun or limit its ability to disperse
air pollutants. Likewise it should encourage wind passages, linear parks, natural
ventilation and ensure its access to solar.
The city can also be cooled by controlling the colour of building surfaces. For
example, whitewashing increases the reflectiveness of buildings in large areas
and helps them to reduce their absorption of heat and shortwave radiation. In
fact, some studies show that annual cooling energy can decrease by a whopping
19 percent in some areas (reference). This technique is easy to enforce and
implement and should also be a factor of consideration by councils in relation to
any new developments.
Lastly, planners and local governments should encourage the use of walkways
rather than roads. But i will leave Atif to cover how minimising the use of cars
can not only help us save our cities but also help us cool it as well. .
DISTRICT
RACHEL
SECTION SLIDE We propose to use the Urban Heat Island Effect as one of the planning priorities
for local councils in the Western Parkland City. An overall Urban cooling target
should be included in the Local Strategic Planning Statement, with actions and
implementation that can be reflected in local zoning and development controls.
SLIDES #1 Trees At the local and neighbourhood street level, we propose to set up a 30% tree
canopy cover target.
Western Sydney was found to have the highest proportion of potentially
plantable spaces with Blacktown, Camden, Fairfield, Liverpool and Penrith all
boasting significant areas of grass-bare ground that could potentially be planted.
The 30% target can be translated into councils’ LEP, for example, to specify the
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locations and volume of vegetation at a development site. And to establish a
climate-sensitive vegetation zoning plan that enables smart distribution of trees
throughout the landscape to achieve a larger area extent of cooling.
SLIDE#2 Water Trees need water.
Water needs energy to change phase from liquid to vapour; this physical
process - evaporation can remove heat effectively, especially in a dry climate
like Western Sydney.
To effectively make use of water features in urban cooling, we need a
cross-sectoral planning framework that integrates water system and land use.
Water infrastructure such as running water on urban surfaces, contained water
bodies, or onsite stormwater management should be planned and designed as
an integral part of the built environment. This is asking for more than merely a
Water Sensitive Urban Design strategy required by council’s LEP.
We urge councils in Western Parkland City to overcome the institutional barrier,
and collaborate with water and sewerage service providers to create a
whole-of-landscape planning framework for water infrastructure.
SLIDE#3 BGI This then brings us to the idea of Blue-Green Infrastructure.
Distinct from the traditional grey approach to urban infrastructure, which simple
discharges rainwater into pipes, BGI connects urban hydrological functions (blue
infrastructure) with vegetation systems (green infrastructure) in urban
landscape design.
Successful implementation of BGI can be found around the world including
Singapore, Germany, US, Japan, Belgium, Netherland, Canada, and here in
Blacktown.
Blue-Green cities have a higher reputation, attract young families and give
companies strong arguments to locate their headquarters there.
We recognize Western Parkland City is the opportunity for us to pilot this new
and smart solution in response not only to UHI effect, but also to various
environmental and socioeconomic needs.
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SITE
ATIF
How can buildings lessen heat impacts?
- Passive cooling
- Airtight buildings
SECTION SLIDE At a site level, addressing the issue of the uhi effect is about influencing build
design, quality and material selection ​Here, we wish to get the support of the
GSC as we incorporate these site strategies into our Local Strategic Planning
Statements and enforce them through our DCPs
Slide#1 Nat. Vent One key area to influence in design is passive ventilation
Natural ventilation - ​natural forces, such as wind and thermal buoyancy, to
circulate air to and from an indoor space.
A 2017 study on the opportunities for applying natural ventilation in cities in
Australia showed that in the 8760 hours that make up a year, we can have 3510
hours of natural ventilation which satisfies our requirements in Sydney. That is a
whopping 40% of our ventilation needs. In the West this percentage might be
less during summer months but by addressing the orientation at a city level, we
expect between 30-40% use of this as opposed to mechanical ventilation use.
We recommend that passive ventilation requirements be adopted in addition to
the ​energy-efficiency requirements mandated through the National
Construction Code ​(​NCC​)
Slide#3 Insulation &
Construction
This is a picture of a design for residential developments in Masdar city in Abu
Dhabi. The idea is to get airtight construction and use low thermal mass for
material directly exposed to solar heat gain which then allows for ​Improved
Whole Building Energy-Efficiency.
To enforce this would require setting more stringent requirements than those
set by the NCC as they do not​ set a maximum air leakage rate which has been
identified as an issue across more than half of new builds in capital cities in
Australia since 2016. We ask you to consider this as a strict requirement for the
Western Parkland city where the ramifications will be significant.
Slide#2 Pavement Pavings: Paving covers 25-50% of a typical urban setting- are usually
impermeable, hard, thick and heavy. Asphalt for example, can reach a peak
surface temperature of 48°C to 67°C on a hot summer day. So they have
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significant contribution to the heat build up in cities
To address this we would like the use of cool pavements to be applied. In
addition, non-traditional pavements should be considered in low traffic areas.
These pavements are permeable, so are able to store water within the
pavement or in the soil beneath. This can then evaporate through the same
means and cool the pavement during the hot summer.
Slide#4 Windows &
Facades
Window location and design can assist in managing solar gain,
Areas where there is more free shade, that is, shade resulting from adjacent
buildings and structures, have more windows. As such, will have less windows at
the top floor or have facade structures to reduce direct sun light in the
apartment.
The elements of building construction to consider the microclimate will be key,
hence why we will be emphasising on this strategies and our DCP
ATIF: We now welcome community member Matt Jessup to respond and
conclude
CONCLUSION
MATT
The community welcomes the approach of the consortium but also wants to
introduce a softer approach to make Western Sydney more inviting and liveable
for the community.
Social isolation is an unfortunate by-product of Urban Heat Island effect and we
believe that Councils should do all it can to limit social isolation within the
Western Parkland City.
We want to push the GSC to confront this head on, through strategic plans that
create active transport networks that connect town centres with the natural
environment.
Good management of, and connections to, the natural environment means that
people will be able to once again enjoy Western Sydney’s waterways and ‘beat
the heat’ during the hot summers as they did in decades past.
So we’ve highlighted 2 precincts that allow for escaping the heat in the summer.
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1) Penrith
For residents of Penrith, we believe that the Penrith Weir Should be
safeguarded from pollution. In its current state, only 4 millimetres of rain is
required to warrant the weir too polluted for swimming.. Not only is pollution not
controlled it’s not even reported. If this was to happen at Bondi, the residents
would be up in arms!
Moreover, we believe that active transport corridors linking penrith centre to
the Nepean River will also complement the East Bank precinct development. If
people can go from beach to bar in the East, we think that the community in
Penrith should be able to go from river to restaurant!
2) Liverpool
For residents of Liverpool, the LSPS has the view to make the Georges River
swimmable. The community views this as a key sustainability principle and we
want to take the B+ health rating given to the river and make it safe for the
community to Swim once again.
We want to push the GSC to establish a pedestrian, cycleway and vehicle access
linking Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre to Liverpool City Centre via improved
foreshore areas and a vegetation management plan to help facilitate the
restoration of the river bank and and push for an active transport corridor. With
a view to making Liverpool a river city.
Thank you
7