Amaravati soon to be a cool city'

Hyderabad: The AP Capital Regional Development Authority has decided to create ‘cool spots’ in Amaravati, where temperatures will be brought down by 14ºC through the use of street cooling concepts. 

The cool spots will be connected by the Mass Rapid Transit and Bus Rapid Transit networks.

According to CRDA officials, street cooling will be carried out by controlling the shade, wind, light and relative humidity in certain parts of the city.

An official of the APCRDA said, “We have kept the designs of government complex buildings open to the public and to experts, and we are inviting suggestions. Cool spots are a part of our plans. They will be designed to ensure the comfort and well-being of pedestrians, especially during the summer months. These dedicated spots will have shade, fans to ensure air movement, seating facilities, drinking water, WiFi, and information kiosks.”

He said air temperature usually hovers around 47ºC during the peak summer. 

“Our aim is to use street cooling concepts to bring the temperature down by 14ºC. Adding trees and designing narrower streets will help us achieve this. Cool spots will also have cold water sprinklers,” the official added.

Engineers and environmental experts have studied all aspects of the urban micro-climate, including variables such as air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, mean radiant temperature, infrared environmental exch-ange, human metabolic activity, and surface reflection. They will make use of their observances to implement cooling strategies.

CRDA officials say that the buildings of the AP High Court and Government Com-plex have been designed to have a natural cooling effect through the use of shading envelopes and other low-temperature strategies. Officials will work on the conceptual designs to further improve the buildings.