Increasing temperatures are causing an over-reliance on air-conditioning and exposing a lack of cooling elements in public outdoor areas, according to new research from Western Sydney University. The researchers say this is leading to sedentary lifestyles and social isolation in the affected suburbs.

The research drew on the findings of a transdisciplinary pilot study titled Cooling the Commons, and interviewed groups of residents in Western Sydney to find out how they keep cool in extreme heat. They asked how vulnerable groups including the elderly, mothers with young children and carers would like to see their communities improve as summers are getting increasingly hotter.

Dr Louise Crabtree from the Institute for Culture and Society, says that when summer temperatures soar, liveability is compromised, especially for those who don’t have access to, or can’t afford, air-conditioning.

“The capacity of individuals and communities to cope with urban heat is determined by housing design, housing tenure arrangements, the design of public spaces, social networks, and everyday material circumstances,” she says.

“We could see how the lack of shaded and other cool public spaces is forcing an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. One group of participants told us how their children in childcare are not allowed to play outdoors after mid-morning due to the lack of shade. School-aged children come home straight after school, rather than riding their bikes, to ‘just chill’.”

The report found that indoor shopping centres and fast-food restaurants are the only major sites of cooling and recreation for many residents in Western Sydney.

“Another group described being completely reliant on air-conditioning and confining themselves to particular rooms in their homes during hot days. This can lead to social isolation with single-occupant dwellings on the rise in Australia.”

The researchers say that with air-conditioning now the primary response for keeping cool, the provision of outdoor infrastructure such as shade, shelter, public water and places to comfortably rest and wait during summer has been neglected.

“New houses in Western Sydney, as all around Australia, are being designed around air-conditioning to deliver thermal comfort,” says Crabtree.

“This leads to a perceived need for less publicly accessible infrastructure, which then exacerbates the problem. The sobering reality we confront is an Australia where 50-degree summer days may become a normal event in Sydney by 2040, sooner in other metropolitan areas.”

“Reliance on air-conditioning increases the demand for fossil fuel derived energy which is contributing significantly to global warming, people are being driven indoors to individualised social spaces, and household energy bills soar. This also has implications for households that either can’t install air-conditioners or afford to run them.”

The researchers call for governments to consider alternative ways to deal with the heat and to listen to the voices of residents in designing adaptive environments.

Researchers’ recommendations for cooler and more social communities

Invest in shared, multipurpose infrastructure such as libraries, hospitals, schools, swimming pools and community centres which are open to circulation of air and people, and in accessible public transport systems to these places
Community gardens can reduce radiant heat effects and facilitate learning communities
Community cook-out is a way to share knowledge and enjoy social interaction in a local setting outside of a hot house at the end of a hot day
Prepare a community weather preparedness plan, similar to plans for bushfires and other natural disasters

Architecture & Design Team

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