The new “cool”: cities that are cooling down

For decades, city leaders have been preoccupied with making their cities "cool" in the sense of being trendy. However, with the climate crisis becoming ever more pressing, a different, more literal meaning of "cool" is increasingly taking centre stage in debates about the future of cities. It is a no-brainer: As our planet increasingly faces the catastrophic consequences of climate change, cities must take practical and sustainable measures to cool down the urban environment and mitigate the negative effects of rising temperatures and, especially, the occurrence of extreme heat. In a new article for City Monitor, I explore how cities can and already do so.