Urban Heat Islands and Nature-Based Solutions: How to Redefine the Design of More Livable Cities?
Urban Heat Islands and Nature-Based Solutions: Redefining the Design of Livable Cities
The uncontrolled rise of temperatures in cities, known as the "urban heat island" effect, challenges architects, urban planners, and property owners to create more livable and sustainable environments. In a context where urban well-being and climate change resilience become priorities, new evidence and approaches arise, forcing a rethink of both design strategies and the management of public and private spaces.
What is an urban heat island and why should you care?
Urban heat islands occur when built-up areas absorb and retain more heat than the surrounding rural zones. Materials like asphalt and concrete, lack of vegetation, and intense human activities raise the ambient temperature in cities up to 5°C higher than their surroundings (EPA, 2024). This multiplies health risks, increases energy consumption, and degrades environmental quality.
Myths, limits, and new findings about urban vegetation
In the last decade, planting trees and increasing urban vegetation has been considered the winning card to mitigate these temperature spikes. However, joint research by MIT and Harvard published in March 2025 suggests this traditional approach may not be equally effective in all contexts. The study notes that "urban forests" often fail to replicate global heat adaptation mechanisms due to their low genetic diversity, limiting their capacity to withstand future heatwaves.
According to the researchers, "urban heat islands are a poor proxy for global warming... this may have led researchers to underestimate the impacts of warming in some cases. The discrepancy ... has a lot to do with the limited genetic diversity of urban tree species." See MIT/Harvard study
Nature-Based Solutions: resilience as a strategy
Here, Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) come into play, an approach that goes beyond just planting trees and bets on comprehensive interventions tailored to the local context. According to the “Compendium on Nature-Based Solutions for Urban Resilience,” these strategies combine green infrastructure, ecological restoration, and community engagement to address environmental and social challenges.Source: Compendium Nature-Based Solutions
- Restoration of wetlands and water bodies in urban areas.
- Design of multifunctional green roofs and walls.
- Ecological corridors to improve local biodiversity.
- Urban sustainable drainage systems to prevent flooding and improve microclimate.
Why integrate NbS strategies in real estate development?
Applying NbS can reduce ambient temperatures by up to 3°C, lower cooling costs, and increase the perceived value of properties (World Bank, 2024). Additionally, it enhances resilience to extreme events and boosts the sustainable image of real estate projects and residential neighborhoods.
Success stories in Europe and Asia demonstrate that integrating nature-based solutions can reduce the urban heat island effect by 20-30% and increase accessible green spaces by up to 40% within five years (UNEP, 2024).
Looking ahead: Innovation, AI, and community engagement
Technological innovation can accelerate and make more efficient the transition toward resilient cities. Artificial intelligence, for example, facilitates urban planning, scenario simulation, and visualization of future urban landscapes. Tools such as Deptho.ai allow transforming sketches into renders and exploring how different green solutions would modify spaces and user perception.
The key: working together with communities, professionals, and policymakers to co-design resilient urban scenarios and adapt each solution to the particularities of the local social and ecological fabric.
How to start? 3 actionable steps for your next project
- Assess the plant diversity of your environment, prioritizing native and mixed species.
- Leverage urban visualization and simulation technology (such as Deptho.ai Free Mode) to anticipate the impact of your ideas.
- Promote citizen participation from early stages to ensure rooting and scalability.
Investing today in nature-based solutions is investing in the value, resilience, and reputation of tomorrow's urban projects.
Looking for inspiration for your own sustainable projects or want to see how scenario visualization can accelerate decision-making? Keep exploring our blog or try Deptho’s tools to take your ideas to the next level.
