Exploring the Impact of Pavement Materials on Surface and Air Temperatures in Arid Climates

The paper investigates the impact of retrofitting pavement technologies in a neighborhood setting, with a specific focus on mitigating the urban heat island (UHI) effect during the summer. The study aims to improve surface temperatures and enhance overall air temperature at pedestrians’ level. Through simulations conducted in a case study using ENVI-met as urban modeling software, the research observes key environmental parameters such as ambient air temperature and mean radiant temperature for validation. By comparing different scenarios, including the base case, the study evaluates the overall efficiency of the proposed interventions, including whitetopping and permeable interlocking. The results indicate that cool pavement strategies outperform the base case in terms of reducing average surface and ambient air temperatures. Furthermore, the cool pavement exhibits the lowest average surface temperature during the day. This research contributes to our understanding of how pavement retrofit technologies can be evaluated on a neighborhood scale, providing valuable insights for making strategic decisions regarding the implementation of sustainable pavement technologies in cities.