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Houston's Heat Island Reduction Activities
Pilot Cities
- Denotes link to glossary
definition
EPA, EPA Region 6, the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the Department of
Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the
Houston-Galveston Area Council and their Cool
Communities Committee, the Houston Advanced Research
Center (HARC), the City of Houston, and other
stakeholder groups are participating in an effort to
evaluate the feasibility of including heat island
reduction strategies in the Houston-Galveston Area
(HGA)
State
Implementation Plan (SIP)
.
View
the latest information on HGA's SIP.
Local participants have formed three working groups – trees and vegetation, cool paving, and cool roofs – to develop a Houston-appropriate heat island reduction plan. These groups are focusing on identifying the best strategies available to reduce the effects of heat island development on ground-level ozone concentrations in the HGA.
Below are some of the projects and organizations in Houston that work on reducing heat islands.
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Urban Forestry Modeling in Houston .
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service
developed the Urban Forest Effects (UFORE) Model as a
means of quantifying urban forest structure and
function. Understanding the urban forest is an
important step toward properly handling and
optimizing the beneficial effects of urban trees.
UFORE consists of four models that perform various functions including quantifying species composition, tree density, tree health, leaf area, leaf biomass, and hourly urban forest volatile organic compound emissions
. UFORE also calculates total carbon stored and net
carbon stored annually by urban trees and pollutant
removal for ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide,
carbon monoxide, and particulate matter less than 10
microns. The Forest Service currently is conducting a
UFORE study of the Houston metropolitan
area. -
The
Houston Advanced Research Center .
HARC is a nonprofit research organization focusing
on the improvement of human and ecosystem well-being
through research in energy, the environment, and life
sciences. HARC aims to bring stakeholders together to
identify workable strategies to reduce urban
temperatures and improve air quality in the region.
HARC currently is conducting research to determine
the potential for heat island reduction in the
Houston Gulf Coast Region and is coordinating the
three working groups focused on developing an HGA
heat island reduction plan. (See first paragraph
under "Activities.")
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Houston Green .
Houston Green, or "The Green," was initiated to fund
an American Forests Urban Ecological Analysis (UEA)
for the Houston Gulf Coast Region. The coalition,
which is comprised of government, business, and
nonprofit organizations, determined that a regional
organization was needed to act as a vehicle to: share
knowledge among green organizations; advocate
supporting the urban forest and its trees,
vegetation, and habitats; encourage the expansion of
the urban forest; and educate communities about the
multiple economic, environmental, and health benefits
offered by urban forests.
The UEA report was completed in December 2000 and can be found on the American Forests website
. The Green is continuing to develop and put a local
reforestation plan into action, and it is leading the
Trees and Vegetation working group focused on
developing an HGA heat island reduction
plan. -
Trees for Houston .
Trees for Houston is a nonprofit organization
dedicated to urban reforestation in the Houston metro
area. Trees for Houston promotes tree planting
throughout Houston neighborhoods, along major
thoroughfares and freeways, and in large open spaces.
Since its founding in 1983, the group has planted a
total of 153,000 trees and seedlings, which includes
3,048 trees and 122,107 seedlings along Houston's
major streets and freeways. In addition to tree
planting, Trees for Houston educates adults and
school children about the value and environmental
benefits of urban trees, with a focus on
preservation.
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Gulf Coast Institute .
The Gulf Coast Institute educates Houston area
residents on how to achieve a better quality of life
in the Houston Gulf Coast Region. The Gulf Coast
Institute focuses on revitalization and protection of
neighborhoods, increased mobility, improved air and
water quality, protection of green space and natural
resources, and building a sense of place and
community. As a part of its effort, the Gulf Coast
Institute promotes heat island reduction and is
currently working with the City of Houston to
coordinate Houston's efforts.
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The Quality of Life Coalition .
The Coalition aims to provide Houston with the best
quality of life in America. The agenda of the
coalition includes four main methods to achieve this
goal. These methods include increasing urban
vegetation; creating, improving, and preserving
existing parks and bayous; enforcing required
removals and bans on new construction of billboards
and improving on-premise sign regulation; and
eliminating litter and graffiti in neighborhoods and
along roadways. The Quality of Life Coalition has the
endorsement of over 60 different groups including
HARC, Trees for Houston, the Greater Houston
Partnership, the Houston Association of Realtors, the
American Institute of Architects-Houston, and the
Gulf Coast Institute.