Under Action 3 of the Canberra’s Living Infrastructure Plan, Alluvium was engaged to develop a Microclimate Assessment Guide (Guide) that would outline how to assess the microclimate of different public and private urban contexts specific to Canberra – such as large scale development sites, town centre open spaces or greenfield estates – in order to inform context specific urban heat prevention and/or treatment measures.

In order for the guide to have a strong footing, the team from Mosaic Insights and Alluvium Consulting firstly undertook a review of current domestic and international best practice methods in treating and preventing urban heat through urban planning and design.

Targeted at public and private land, and infrastructure planners, developers, designers and managers in the ACT, the purpose of the Microclimate Assessment Guide is to provide guidance on when a microclimate assessment is required and the most appropriate platform for carrying it out.

The Guide provides information on the where, when, how, why and how of microclimate assessments, and recommendations on what can be done to mitigate the negative impacts of urban heat and cold stress at different development scales (such as block and building, precinct to estate, and district to city-wide scales).

The Guide was finalised in June 2021 and is currently on track to being published and its use mandated to inform policy and forward planning studies for centres, urban renewal projects and urban intensification precincts, with initial assessment of priority locations to inform a city cooling works program.