Land use policies are turning up the heat downtown
Just before last month’s historic heat wave, King County and Seattle released findings from a 2020 heat study of King Co. driving home the science and inequity of global warming.
It showed neighborhoods with fewer trees and more commercial-industrial uses suffered far more when temperatures rose. Some experienced simultaneous temperature differences up to 24 degrees warmer than rural and tree-lined neighborhoods. The neighborhoods most impacted by heat were located in South King County -- with just one exception: Downtown.
The report’s appendix explains how Downtown’s built environment is changing its natural environment. “Massive amounts of concrete and building material absorb, retain and emit heat constantly through the day and night.” Meanwhile, “Mid-day shadowing from taller buildings in downtown is a likely reason for the relatively cooler afternoon temperatures.”
Seattle’s Office of Sustainability and Environment (OSE) adds another piece to the warming picture, reporting that Seattle’s buildings account for 37% of its Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, an increase of 8.1%. “Emissions in the buildings sector increased drastically between 2016 and 2018. The major factors contributing to the increase in building emissions are new buildings with fossil gas heating, colder winters, warmer summers, and a growing population and workforce.”
Seattle can’t and won’t stop building but what’s happening downtown calls for serious changes to zoning, building codes and tree coverage. Ironically, OSE’s interdepartmental Green New Deal team tasked with reducing GHG emissions omits the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI), the very department responsible for these policies.
Ironically, if residents downtown and elsewhere want to see fewer impacts from global warming, they’ll need to turn up the heat at City Hall.
