buildings Review Improving City Vitality through Urban Heat Reduction with Green Infrastructure and Design Solutions: A Systematic Literature Review Helen Elliott, Christine Eon and Jessica K. Breadsell * Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute, School of Design and the Built Environment, Curtin University, Building 209 Level 1, Kent St. Bentley, Perth, WA 6102, Australia;
[email protected] (H.E.);
[email protected] (C.E.) * Correspondence:
[email protected] Received: 29 September 2020; Accepted: 23 November 2020; Published: 27 November 2020 Abstract: Cities are prone to excess heat, manifesting as urban heat islands (UHIs). UHIs impose a heat penalty upon urban inhabitants that jeopardizes human health and amplifies the escalating effects of background temperature rises and heatwaves, presenting barriers to participation in city life that diminish interaction and activity. This review paper investigates how green infrastructure, passive design and urban planning strategies—herein termed as green infrastructure and design solutions (GIDS)—can be used to cool the urban environment and improve city vitality. A systematic literature review has been undertaken connecting UHIs, city vitality and GIDS to find evidence of how qualities and conditions fundamental to the vitality of the city are diminished by heat, and ways in which these qualities and conditions may be improved through GIDS. This review reveals that comfortable thermal conditions underpin public health and foster activity—a prerequisite for a vital city—and that reducing environmental barriers to participation in urban life enhances physical and mental health as well as activity. This review finds that GIDS manage urban energy flows to reduce the development of excess urban heat and thus improve the environmental quality of urban spaces.