Overheard a city planner say asphalt reflects way more heat than grass... mind blown

I was at a town hall meeting in Austin last Tuesday and this woman from the planning department mentioned that a single parking lot can raise the temp around it by 4 degrees. She said swapping even a quarter of the lot for native plants would cut the heat island effect noticeably. Has anyone here tried replacing driveway or lot surfaces with something like permeable pavers or grass?

3 comments

3 Comments

aaron_mitchell1mo ago

Really feel that pain. I have a blacktop driveway here and on a 95 degree day you can literally feel the heat coming off it. Been thinking about ripping it up for permeable pavers but man the cost...

park.miles1mo ago

Man, my buddy did that swap last year and said the first 90 degree day was night and day difference.

annajenkins1mo ago

That blacktop heat is brutal, you're not wrong there. My driveway faced south and on a 95 degree day you could fry an egg on it if you wanted. Switched to lighter concrete two years ago and it's a lot better but still not cheap.