How cities can adapt to the climate crisis

In parts of the Middle East, outdoor air conditioning is one response to soaring temperatures. But reflective roofs, waterways and street trees offer far more sustainable solutions

- Oliver Wainwright

With heatwaves around the world likely to become more frequent, some sun-scorched regions are adapting their cities to cope.

On a trip to Dubai a few years ago, I was shown a new outdoor shopping street that had apparently been carefully tuned to the desert climate. It was presented as a novel concept for this indoor shopping mall-addicted nation, designed in the manner of a pedestrian precinct familiar to those in less arid climes. A breeze wafted along the pavement, and I wondered what clever environmental design allowed the street to feel so much cooler than the rest of the sweltering city.

"Outdoor air conditioning," came the answer. Sure enough, between each shop unit, rows of jets were busy pumping processed icy air out into the 40Cheat. Meanwhile, around the back of the block, generators spewed out hot exhaust air, making other streets even more insufferable for those outside the chilled private precinct.

As temperatures soar across the world, with London expected to feel like Barcelona by 2050, and Madrid set to be like Marrakech, there is a danger that outdoor AC units could soon become just as ubiquitous as the patio gas heater the colossal emissions of both accelerating the extreme weather that they are designed to mitigate.

Air conditioning is almost uniquely power-hungry, and its use is only set to grow. The US expends as much energy on it each year as the UK uses in total, while during a recent heatwave in Beijing, half of the city's power capacity was going on AC. As hot, developing nations become more prosperous, and prosperous nations become hotter, the International Energy Agency estimates that the energy spent on air conditioning will triple by 2050-a growth equivalent to the current electricity demand in the US and Germany combined.

So how can we adapt our buildings, streets and public spaces to cope, without further heating our planet in the process?