By 2050, two important world changes will have occurred. First, two thirds of the world’s population will be living in urban areas. This is a well-known fact by most designers, and many have taken on the challenge of designing better cities for these future inhabitants. And second, there is a high chance the global temperature will have risen by 2° Celsius. By 2050, the world will be substantially hotter than it is today, changing the public’s interactions with the built environment and with the landscape.

While there is a tenuous protocol to follow when designing for other effects of climate change, like sea level rise, extreme heat has yet to be addressed within the realm of urban design and landscape architecture. This project intends to begin the process of developing heat mitigation infrastructure for urban settings, specifically within the context of the Mission District in San Francisco, California.