National Heat Vulnerability Observatory

This project received a co-contribution from the Smart Places Acceleration Program, part of the NSW Government Digital Restart Fund. The NSW Smart Places Acceleration Program helps place owners - including councils, government agencies, property owners, and joint organisations - partner with the State Government to solve problems and improve the quality of life for communities across regional and metropolitan NSW. It is made possible by a $47 million reservation under the NSW Government Digital Restart Fund.

Outcome of the Project

“Phase 1 of the Smart & Cool Places pilot project, which assesses the vulnerability of towns and cities to extreme heat while exploring strategies to cool neighbourhoods, has been a highly successful project. This initiative marks a significant step forward in using environmental heat sensors to gather crucial data and formulate plans to address various heat-related challenges in local communities.

The standardised approach adopted by the project will facilitate foundational elements of a National Urban Heat Vulnerability Index to be scaled to other cities and towns in NSW and ultimately achieve the long-term goal of having a national heat vulnerability observatory that will be rolled out across Australia.

We are proud to have been part of the team that made this project possible."

Matthew Riley

Director Climate and Atmospheric Science
Science, Economics & Insights | Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

View the National Heat Vulnerability Observatory (NaHVO) Project Report Here

Background

The NSW Department of Planning and Environment in partnership with UNSW High Performance Architecture team seek to address urban overheating in NSW cities and towns by establishing a “National Heat Vulnerability Observatory”. “Smart and Cool Places Phase 1” will develop foundational elements for the observatory, pilot in two NSW cities (Maitland and Dubbo) and identify a plan to scale beyond pilot.

Ultimately (after Phase 1), the national heat vulnerability observatory will be applicable to cities and communities throughout Australia. The approach and design of this digital asset therefore has the future in mind and will be positioned as the “National Heat Vulnerability Observatory”.

Project Objectives

The National Heat Vulnerability Observatory (NaHVO) aims to develop rigorous national datasets and an innovative, robust and consistent methodology to report and measure the heat vulnerability issues and cooling potential of Australia’s cities. NaHVO will provide:

City/town specific datasets for heat vulnerability that are tailored to specific urban contexts and local overheating issues.
State and national datasets to provide the ability to monitor the heat vulnerability and cooling potential trends of Australian cities.
Performance measures and key indicators derived from these datasets to establish a consistent methodology for heat vulnerability assessment and benchmarking.
Analytical modelling for city and precincts with what-if scenario analysis of mitigation and adaptation interventions.
Data interoperability with the NSW Digital Twin and other urban networks and government data platforms.

Smart and Cool Places Phase 1 will develop a digital capability in NSW to increase the state’s resilience to urban overheating. It will inform the scaling of these approaches to all communities in NSW through the development of digital platforms and standards.

Phase 1 is a pilot of NaHVO using two cities: Dubbo and Maitland. The next step with be a scale up of NaHVO to integrate Australia’s largest cities.

Who Will Benefit

Government

Develop effective mitigation strategies
Prioritise heat vulnerability investments
Monitor heat vulnerability performance of cities and towns
Track effectiveness of policies and investments over time

Planners, Developers, Architects & Designers

Establish specific heat mitigation planning controls and design requirements
Evaluate urban and building mitigation interventions for specific locations

Community Members

Make decisions about where to live and what can be done to adapt to extreme heat

Project Participants

Matthew Riley, Director Climate and Atmospheric Science

Peter Runcie, Project Manager

Thilini Wickramasekera, Project Coordinator
Digital Twins Team
Scientia Professor Deo Prasad

A/Professor Lan Ding (Project Lead)

Dr William Craft

Dr Henry Petersen

Shuhan Yang

Tony Jin

Research associates
Catriona Jennings, Organisational Sustainability Coordinator

Tim Howlett, Team Leader Growth Planning Projects

Matthew Green, Chief Information Officer
Catherine Pepper, Manager Environment & Sustainability

Ben Maddox, Principal Sustainability Officer

Gary Hamer, Senior Strategic Planner