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Convert dark roofs and pavement to reflective, high-albedo surfaces

#00007

Replace dark, heat-absorbing roofs and pavement with high-albedo reflective surfaces — cool roofs, light-colored or coated pavement — to reflect sunlight rather than retain it. Acts fast and scales through building codes and repaving cycles.

City of Phoenix Street Transportation Dept & Office of Sustainability, with Arizona State University· since 2020· City

Phoenix coated 36 miles of residential roadway and a parking lot with a light-gray reflective "CoolSeal" treatment and conducted a multi-year evaluation with Arizona State University — the largest cool-pavement deployme…

Roadway treated36miles
Surface temp reduction (afternoon)untreated asphalt−10.5 to −12°F
City of Phoenix· 3 sources
Author AvatarArnaud Gissinger
City of Los Angeles· City

Los Angeles, where average temperatures run nearly six degrees hotter than surrounding areas, adopted cool-surface measures alongside a measurable temperature target. Its Sustainable City pLAn set a goal to reduce the l…

Average urban-rural temperature gapsurrounding areas~6 hotter°F
Differential reduction target2025 milestone1.7 by 2025, 3 by 2035°F
New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU)· since 2025· Region

After Newark recorded 103°F in June 2025 — breaking its previous June high by six degrees — New Jersey launched a $5 million Urban Heat Island Mitigation Program through the Board of Public Utilities, funded by the stat…

June 2025 peak temperatureprevious June record103°F
Program fundingn/a5 millionUSD
New Jersey Clean Energy Fund· 2 sources
Author AvatarArnaud Gissinger

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