Heat Safe Communities

After completing the assessment you can review a checklist of additional urban heat resilience measures to be considered as a response to residual risk from extreme heat. This covers key elements your development could include to ensure residual risk from acute urban heat events is managed appropriately.

RES1: Vulnerability mapping (for existing communities only)

Outcome

Improved understanding of the distribution of at-risk members of the community to guide investment in heat mitigation measures.

Criteria

Spatial vulnerability mapping undertaken using ABS statistics such as the SEIFA index.

In large greenfield developments, consideration should be given to SEIFA index of surrounding communities.

Guidance

Vulnerable members of the community are most at risk from extreme heat due to a range of socio-economic or physiological factors. Mitigation measures such as cool spaces should be readily accessible in areas with higher levels of vulnerable groups (e.g., low-income, over 65, young children).

Heat risk assessments are an emerging space. Land surface temperature is a commonly used proxy for exposure, because this data is relatively available. However, impact on human health is better reflected in University Thermal Comfort Index (1), which includes a more complex interplay between temperature, humidity, wind speed, land cover and shading.

*Note Table 11 below has been provided to outline relevant indices, themes and indicators

Indices	Themes	Indicators
Exposure	Heat exposure	University Thermal Comfort Index (1) / Land Surface Temperature (2) Vegetation cover (3) (4)
Adaptive capacity	Socio economic status	Low socio-economic demographic (3) (5) (6) (10)s
	Physiological	Under 5 or over 65 years of age (3) (6) Existing medical condition (3) (6) (9) Need for assistance (incl. disability) (4) (5)
	Behavioural	Outdoor workers (3) (7) (9)
Adaptive capacity	Locational	Distance to health and emergency services (4) (11) Proximity to cool centres (4) (10)
	Mobility	No motor vehicle (5) (7) (8) (11) (12)
	Awareness	New arrival to area (7)(11) CALD (7) (11) (13) Education (10) (11) Internet access (11)
	Tenancy type	Owning / renting (10) (11) (14)

Table 11 - RES1 Indicators

References

(1) QUT. Impacts and adaptation response of infrastructure and communities to heatwaves: The southern Australian experience of 2009. s.l.: NCCARF, 2010.

(2) Tofa, Matalena and Gissing, Andrew. Heatwaves in New South Wales: How are residents and businesses coping? Risk Frontiers, pp. 1-7.

(3) Coates, Lucinda, et al. Exploring 100 years of vulnerability: An examination of extreme heat events in Australia 1844-2010. Environmental Science & Policy, pp. 33 - 44, 2014.

(4) Resilient Sydney. A strategy for city resilience 2018, 2018.

(5) NSW OEH. Urban Heat Climate Change Impact Snapshot. Sydney: NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, 2018.

(6) Sydney Water & UNSW. Cooling Western Sydney, 2017.

(7) NSW DPIE. Projections Explorer. DPIE Population, 2021. [Online] https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/population/

(8) WSROC. Turn Down The Heat - Strategy and Action Plan. s.l.: WSROC, 2018.

(9) Coakley, J A. REFLECTANCE AND ALBEDO. [book auth.] J.R Holton. Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Sciences. s.l.: Academic Press, 2003.

(10) Bureau of Meteorology. Understanding heatwaves. Bureau of Meteorology, 2021. [Online] http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/heatwave/knowledge-centre/understanding.shtml

(11) Hobbs, J. E. Climatic hazards. In: Climatology, Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Boston, MA: Springer, 1987.

(13) Climate Council. The Silent Killer: Climate Change and Health Impacts of Extreme Heat. s.l.: The Climate Council of Australia Ltd, 2016.

(14) Greater Sydney Commission. Greater Sydney Region Plan. A Metropolis of Three Cities. Sydney: Greater Sydney Commission, 2018.