resources

Smart outdoor cooling: A guide for development directors

Abigail Mela — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 13:25:07 GMT

Development directors are measured on outcomes. Schemes that trade well in markets, attract and retain tenants, and deliver footfall and dwell time that converts into rent and low turnover. Increasingly, the outdoor areas where much of that performance is won, the plazas, terraces, and food and beverage zones, are compromised by summers that are not only hotter, but also longer.

Trees, misting, shade, or fountains? Comparing urban cooling options

Abigail Mela — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 12:56:22 GMT

Cities and property owners facing hotter and longer summers have a variety of cooling options, and no single solution is appropriate for every situation. Trees, misting systems, shade structures, splash pads, and fountains each solve a different part of the problem, on different timescales and at different costs.

Ensuring safety and quality in walkable fountains: The AERISIO Oasis

Abigail Mela — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 12:33:43 GMT

Any time water meets a public space, safety is the first question that must be asked. A walkable fountain invites people, including children, into direct contact with the water, so the quality and management of that water is not a secondary detail. It is central to the design.

How the AERISIO Oasis works, a walkable cooling fountain in weeks, not years

Abigail Mela — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 12:14:14 GMT

Urban cooling has long been treated as a construction problem. A fountain, a shaded plaza, or a redesigned public square typically means years of design, permitting, and building work before anyone feels the difference. The AERISIO Oasis takes a different path. It is a walkable cooling fountain, engineered as a modular product and installed above ground in weeks, without excavation or construction.

The years between today's heat and tomorrow's city

Abigail Mela — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 18:09:35 GMT

What Spain reveals about the future of urban climate adaptation

For decades, urban cooling has been treated primarily as a design challenge like planting more trees, integrating blue-green infrastructure and redesigning streets and public squares around shade and water. These remain some of the most effective tools cities have for reducing urban heat, and every city should keep investing in them.

Climate adaptation needs a second infrastructure speed

Abigail Mela — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 10:51:24 GMT

Climate adaptation has become remarkably good at describing the city we want to build. It has spent far less time asking how today's city continues to function until that future arrives.