Australia's national science agency, CSIRO, has released a new interactive tool to help make Australia's tropical capital - Darwin - a more liveable, sustainable and resilient city.
Rising temperatures in urban environments across the country are causing increased heat stress, higher energy demands for cooling, and greater risks to public health, particularly for vulnerable populations.
Residents of Darwin, where humid air temperatures have regularly exceeded 35 degrees this summer, can use the Darwin Living Lab portal to assess the heat exposure of their neighbourhood and identify solutions to lower their heat stress.
Although initially focused on Darwin, insights from the project will be applied to other regions throughout Australia.
CSIRO Senior Environmental Scientist, Stephen Cook, called on Darwinites to use the Darwin Living Lab portal to help manage the impact of rising temperatures.
"Residents can use the portal to zoom in on their local areas, assess their heat exposure, and find solutions like planting more trees around their homes or painting their roof a lighter colour," Mr Cook said.
"Urban planners can also use it to explore how city features like tree cover, green spaces, and urban density influence heat levels across suburbs."
CSIRO scientists are using the portal to analyse where Darwin can improve on the 3-30-300 guideline for tree canopy, devised by Dutch urban forestry expert Cecil Konijnendijk.
The guideline states every house, school and workplace should have a view of at least three trees, be in a neighbourhood with at least 30 per cent canopy cover, and be within 300 metres of high-quality public green space.
"It's a new metric that's emerging based on what's considered adequate urban tree cover for people to actually benefit," Mr Cook said.
"It's also about the mental well-being aspects around having visibility and proximity to greenery.
"It's like a benchmark rather than a performance target and poses the question: what's the minimum level of tree canopy that everyone should have access to?"
The portal is part of the Darwin Living Lab project, a collaboration with the Australian and Northern Territory Governments and City of Darwin as part of the Darwin City Deal.
CSIRO also runs an Urban Living Lab project at Sydney Science Park in Western Sydney and has plans for another at Ginninderra in Canberra.
CSIRO Urban Living Labs leader, Dr Tim Muster, said Australian cities are considered among the most liveable in the world, but our cities were becoming vulnerable to extreme climate, consume immense resources and generate a lot of waste.
"Transitioning our cities to be future ready is critical," Dr Muster said.
"The Urban Living Labs aim to develop and accelerate outcomes in liveability, sustainability and resilience for national benefit,"
Visit the Darwin Living Lab portal.
Explore our Focus on Darwin e-book for stories and conversations on changes in Darwin's liveability, sustainability and resilience.
Top tips for keeping cool in Darwin:
1. Find the shade
Shaded surfaces have temperatures up to 21.2°C cooler than sun-exposed surfaces, which reduces the urban heat island effect. Standing in the shade can make you feel up to 5°C cooler compared to the full sun.
Trees are particularly good at creating shade, and they also cool via evapotranspiration (drawing up water from deep in the soil long into the dry season). Shading of your home, particularly windows, with eaves, external blinds and trees can reduce solar gain, keeping indoors cooler and reducing energy demand for air conditioning. Trees take time to grow and they cannot be planted everywhere. Installing engineered shade or the use of green walls with climbing plants can also be good options.
2. Build for breeze
Breezes can help you stay cooler through increased evaporation of sweat and can help flush out the build-up of heat in the urban landscape. Urban and building design should allow for Darwin's prevailing north-west breezes to flow through the urban landscape. In the evening, opening windows of your home on the windward and leeward sides can encourage cross ventilation and help heat loss.
3. Keeping it light in colour
Light colours reflect solar heat. Choosing light-coloured (cool) roofs can help reduce the cooling load to your home.
4. Let's get energy efficient around humidity
The humidity in Darwin is a real challenge to staying cool during the build-up and wet seasons. While most Darwin households use air conditioners to maintain comfort during the hottest months of the year, the increased energy demand increases pressure on your bills while also contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. The use of fans, even during periods of high humidity, can improve your thermal comfort and reduce air conditioning use. Increasing the set temperature of air conditioners to 24-26°C and during the wet season running in dry mode can help reduce energy demand for cooling.
