Originally envisioned by Le Corbusier as the solution to equality, modernity and urbanism, the radial city provided the individual with autonomy, via the automobile (Merin, 2013). The vision became misinterpreted as the independent home, the separation between the urban commercial heart and a radial suburban household and led to the disaster we now recognise as urban sprawl. One of the precipitates of this urban sprawl is what we now call the Urban Heat Island effect (UHI). Characterised as the result of our built environment absorbing heat during the day and dissipating it overnight, the Urban Heat Island has generated uncomfortable inner city environments as well as contributing to increased energy consumption for heating and cooling (USEPA, 2013).
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