Evidence-based guidance on reflective pavement for urban heat mitigation in Arizona

Urban overheating is an increasing threat to people, infrastructure, and the environment. Common heat mitigation strategies, such as green infrastructure, confront space limitations in current car-centric cities. In 2020, the City of Phoenix, Arizona, piloted a “cool pavement” program using a solar reflective pavement seal on 58 km of residential streets. Comprehensive micrometeorological observations are used to evaluate the cooling potential of the reflective pavement based on three heat exposure metrics—surface, air, and mean radiant temperatures—across three residential reflective pavement-treated and untreated neighborhoods. In addition, the solar reflectivity of reflective pavement is observed over 7 months across eight residential neighborhoods. Results are synthesized with the literature to provide context-based reflective pavement implementation guidelines to mitigate urban overheating where common strategies cannot be applied. The three most important contextual factors to consider for effective implementation include urban location, background climate type, and heat exposure metric of interest.