Dark roofs will be banned and backyards expanded for all new houses built in Sydney's emerging Wilton suburb, as part of planning controls that are being introduced to help lower temperatures in the city.
Under plans set out by the New South Wales government, the slate grey roofing typical of much Australian residential construction must be abandoned in favour of lighter, more reflective alternatives that are able to passively cool a building.
The Wilton Development Control Plan for the suburb in western Sydney will also require residential lots to be large enough to accommodate a tree in the garden.
Together with the cool roofs, the hope is that this will help to combat the urban heat island effect, which sees cities experience higher temperatures than the surrounding area due to their dense, dark infrastructure, which absorbs light and re-emits it as heat. "Western Sydney already experiences blistering temperatures of over 50 degrees in summer," planning and public spaces minister Rob Stokes told the Sydney Morning Herald.
"The need to adapt and mitigate urban heat isn't a future challenge ? it's already with us."
Cool roofs could reduce heatwave temperatures
The news comes after the latest IPCC climate report found that average temperatures in Australia have already increased by 1.4 degrees Celcius since the industrial revolution due to manmade climate change.
This means the country is warming faster than global average temperatures, bringing it clos...