Los Angeles is about to get even cooler than it is already. Is it a new donut? A movie? No! It's a new program called "Cool Streets LA."
But what is it, and how does it work?
Here are things to know:
- Los Angeles is installing something it hopes will cool down our streets. It's called "cool pavement," and plans are in place to install 60 miles of it across our neighborhoods.
- So what is it? Well, it's a simple concept. The dark surface of our roads gets very hot in the sun absorbing up to 95% of the sunlight and bringing the surface temperature up to as high as 150 degrees. As a result, the pavement heats the surrounding air and adds to an effect called "the heat island."
- Due to heat absorption, temperatures are often a few degrees warmer in cities than out in more rural places. Buildings and roads act like giant radiators, sometimes making cities hotter by as much as 10 degrees. Ouch!
- By adding a surface treatment to the pavement, though, it ends up reflecting a lot more of the sunlight than it previously absorbed. New cement concrete, for instance, can reflect up to 50% of the sunlight. It's all about the materials used, and they can rather cleverly be applied to reflect the sun and repair the road at the same time.
- Research has shown that something this simple can greatly affect nearby buildings that, because of the cooler air around them, require less energy to cool down with A/C. Other positive outcomes include enhanced comfort and health for pedestrians by improving their air quality and other helpful environmental improvements.
It may be a small and simple change to make to the streets of Los Angeles, but it's clear to see that making us all that little bit cooler isn't that big a stretch after all.