A Literature Review of Cooling Center, Misting Station, Cool Pavement, and Cool Roof Intervention Evaluations

Heat islands and warming temperatures are a growing global public health concern. Although cities are implementing cooling interventions, little is known about their efficacy. We conducted a literature review of field studies measuring the impact of urban cooling interventions, focusing on cooling centers, misting stations, cool pavements, and cool or green roofs. A total of 23 articles met the inclusion criteria. Studies of cooling centers measured the potential impact, based on evaluations of population proximity and heat-vulnerable populations. Reductions in temperature were reported for misting stations and cool pavements across a range of metrics. Misting station use was evaluated with temperature changes and user questionnaires. The benefits and disadvantages of each intervention are presented, and metrics for evaluating cooling interventions are compared. Gaps in the literature include a lack of measured impacts on personal thermal comfort, limited documentation on intervention costs, the need to standardize temperature metrics, and evaluation criteria.

Automated summary

This article reviews field studies on urban cooling interventions, including cooling centers, misting stations, cool pavements, and cool or green roofs. The studies found that misting stations and cool pavements can reduce temperatures, but there is still a lack of evaluation on personal thermal comfort and costs.