Navigating urban heat – Assessing the potential of a pedestrian routing tool

Abstract

Cities are experiencing unprecedented climate impacts related to increasing temperatures, which vary within a city due to the heterogenous nature of urban environments. Adapting urban areas to heat requires efforts on multiple levels from urban governance, spatial planning and design to adapting everyday activities. This paper presents the prototype of a pedestrian routing tool to support citizens in navigating urban heat, and the results of tests and interviews with 24 practitioners and experts in Portugal and Sweden. The study aims to assess how and to what extent a navigation tool on urban heat could support urban climate risk management, and to evaluate the potential of the tool to support everyday adaptation and increase citizen engagement. We explore what functionality and additional information would be required to make the tool useful and relevant for different user groups. Results indicate that (i) climate services that fit in your pocket increase access to climate information and have potential to guide everyday adaptation practices; and (ii) applications need to be contextualized and tailored to match the needs and decision contexts of the user through integration of relevant information or tools.