Cooling Down Creatively
Originally developed in ancient Persia, the qanat system of water channels was introduced to Arabia and then across the Mediterranean region by the Arabs, first into North Africa and then to southern Spain via the Umayyad conquests and the associated scientific transmission of knowledge. The Spanish went on to take the concept of transporting groundwater to fields and cities all the way to South America. Such a project has been launched in Seville, Spain.
Poorer communities are relying on their own green roofs, and some cities are choosing to paint all buildings with reflective and heat-reflective paint.
