![]() Shade keeps everything cooler-and the overheating city is taking note. A well-placed tree, on the other hand, can keep a building 18 degrees cooler than if it were fully exposed to the sun. Asphalt is a particularly good absorber, and along with concrete it releases that captured heat into the air for hours, even after the sun disappears, contributing to the urban heat island effect. The same is true for buildings, sidewalks, and other massive objects: Direct solar radiation imparts more energy and therefore heat. Right: In low-income, largely minority areas such as Hawthorne, lack of public investment means fewer trees. In direct sunlight you might feel as much as 20 degrees warmer than in nearby shade. That temperature is a measure of how fast air molecules are moving and are heating you as they bump into you-but solar radiation heats your body too. On a hot day you feel much hotter in the direct sun than in the shade, even if the air temperature is the same. “The really simple thing, if you care about making people more comfortable, is just to offer more opportunities for shade,” says V. ( Too hot to live: Millions worldwide will face unbearable temperatures.) After four or five days, that number swells to 25 percent-and up to 48 percent among older Black and Latino residents. During a short heat wave, the death rate from all causes rises by 8 percent above normal. Heat already increases the risk of death in Los Angeles, even when it isn’t the proximate cause. The suburbs in the San Fernando Valley may see more than 90 days-a full quarter of the year. is expected to experience 22 days a year above 95 degrees Fahrenheit, more than triple the current number. By mid-century, absent major international efforts to rein in carbon emissions, L.A. ![]() ![]() has more solar power capacity than any other American city.īut in the age of climate change, L.A.’s sunshine is no longer an unqualified boon. After the 1970s’ energy crisis, the city had a new reason to ensure sun access everywhere today, L.A. Architects have designed buildings to be transparent to sunlight and entire complexes to let it enter each corner. The city code often defines where or for how much of the day a building can cast a shadow, lest it overly shade courtyards, parks, or patios. Urban design in Los Angeles prioritizes access to the sun. “Sunshine,” says Hawthorne, “had become one of our central commodities.” “Broad daylight-and in fact, lots and lots of light-and no shadows.” “On many days the world almost has no shadows,” Irwin told the New Yorker in 1998. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Southern California boosters enticed migrants from the East with visions of “almost everlasting sunlight.” The allure of L.A.’s exceptional light has persisted, featured by Hollywood, celebrated by homegrown artists such as Robert Irwin. Modern Los Angeles is a city built on sunshine, not shadow.
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