Cool surfaces: roofs and roads

Author: Katharine Burgess; Elizabeth Foster

Published in:

Urban Land Institute. (2019) Scorched: Extreme Heat and Real Estate

Los Angeles is the first U.S. city to set a citywide temperature reduction goal, and switching to cool surfaces is a key strategy for achieving that goal. Los Angeles’s goal is to reduce the urban heat island effect by 1.7°F by 2025 and average temperature 3°F by 2035, but the city is 40 percent covered by pavement. Los Angeles’s reflective paving program, which targets both rooftops and public streets, complements other UHI reduction programs including a Million Trees initiative and integrated planning with the Department of Health.