Urban planning will benefit from tools that can assess the vulnerability
to thermal stress in urban dense cities. Detailed quick-scan heat stress
maps, as made in this study for Johannesburg, have proven valuable in
the decision-making process on this topic. It raised awareness on the
urgent need to implement measures to tackle the effects of climate
change and urbanization. Awareness on heat stress has led to the
implementation of measures to mitigate the effects of climate change.
As in other countries, nature-based solutions (e.g. green roofs and walls,
swales, rain gardens, planting trees etc) are considered in urban areas
in South Africa for various reasons. The awareness of the effect of
nature based solutions on heat stress is still low, which can be improved
by the use of heat stress maps. Some of these measures are already
mapped on the open source web tool, Climate-scan
(www.climatescan.nl) for international knowledge exchange around
the globe.
