Komali YENNETI, University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom
Sydney regularly scores high in global liveability rankings, but these rankings obscure the city’s vulnerability to extreme temperatures in the face of global warming and climate change. Extreme heat events are likely to become more frequent and intense, with disproportionate impacts on the urban population of Sydney. Managing and mitigating the impacts of urban heat requires a good understanding of urban heat vulnerability and how it occurs throughout the city. This study proposes an indicator-based Urban Heat Vulnerability Assessment for the Greater Sydney Metropolitan Region and analyses the changes in vulnerability over a period of time. The Urban Heat Vulnerability Index (UHVI) constructed in this study uses the best available data from 2011 and 2016 to identify the distribution of urban vulnerability in Sydney across socio-economy and built environment characteristics. The findings of this research reveal that the less urbanised and richer areas in the easter part of the Sydney metropolitan region score low in vulnerability ranking. On the other hand, historically poor and marginal areas of Western Sydney are more vulnerable to extreme heat. The spatial mapping of the index reemphasises the need for place-based approaches to urban heat governance. The index will help governments, developers and urban planners identify the most vulnerable populations throughout the region and develop target oriented urban heat management policies.
Mots clés : Sydney|urban heat|vulnerability|climate change|Australia
A104123KY