Photo: Michael Marczewski for Bloomberg Businessweek
People without air conditioning are more likely to seek relief from heat outdoors at local parks, according to Elie Bou-Zeid, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Princeton, than at a government building. Scientists are combining inexpensive technologies, some novel, some already in use, for deployment in parks in hot cities. One is a kirigami structure, made from fabric and placed over misters that regulate wind speed to maximize cooling. Misters spray small water droplets that quickly evaporate, cooling the air, but effectiveness depends on wind speed. Two kinds of panels are being explored - panels that contain cold water pipes encased in a membrane that repels humidity; and retro-reflective coatings that bounce sunlight back toward the sky. Sun shades are white fabric stretched over parts of a small or midsize park to provide cover and reflect the sun.
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