Urban Heat and Logistics: Adapting Infrastructure for a Warming World
Heat waves are no longer isolated events, but a persistent condition in cities of all sizes. Building design, the location of logistics centers, and construction decisions directly influence the extreme heat experienced in urban environments. Increasingly, experts are exploring strategies to minimize these effects, focusing on both infrastructure upgrades and urban greening initiatives.
In the summer of 2024, architect Alejandro Prieto monitored 42 buildings in the Republica neighborhood of Santiago, Chile, developing a model to measure exterior temperatures during extreme heat. His goal: to determine the impact of design choices – such as material usage, architectural geometries, and vegetation – on facade and exterior space temperatures. “We found that it’s possible to reduce temperatures between 5°C and even 8°C by implementing measures like vegetation on facades and using structures that create self-shading, such as balconies,” explains Prieto, a Doctor in Construction Technologies and academic at the Universidad Diego Portales. “The results show that this effect seems even more important than the material the facades are constructed from.”
This finding is particularly relevant in cities like Santiago, which are experiencing sustained temperature increases and localized areas of intense, persistent heat. Prieto’s research, funded by a Fondecyt Initiation grant, highlights the potential for targeted interventions to mitigate the urban heat island effect.
“The high temperatures cities are experiencing today are due to several factors. One is human concentration, but the way we build also plays a role,” Prieto explains. “Materials like concrete and asphalt have a very large thermal inertia, meaning they accumulate a lot of heat during the day and release it at night. Heat isn’t uniform within a city. In the Metropolitan Region, high temperatures are more intense in the northwest and some western municipalities, which share a common characteristic: a lack of vegetation. The less vegetation, the more heat.”
Research indicates significant temperature variations even within the same neighborhood, creating “microclimates” where adjacent areas can behave very differently thermally. “Surrounding buildings, building orientation, the presence or absence of vegetation, and even how air currents are blocked or channeled directly influence the temperature experienced at street level,” Prieto notes.
This explains why areas like Quilicura, Pudahuel, and parts of Estación Central often record higher temperatures than central municipalities like Santiago. The urban heat island effect isn’t limited to historic city centers, but accompanies the displacement and location of economic activity.
Mitigation Strategies: From Green Infrastructure to Material Science
Prieto believes mitigating extreme heat should be approached as an opportunity to incorporate bioclimatic strategies from the outset of projects. Vegetation remains the most effective factor in reducing temperatures, thanks to its ability to provide shade, release moisture into the air, and cool the surrounding environment. However, he acknowledges the challenge of water usage in the context of the current water crisis. “Here we must consider that our buildings are full of water – in industrial processes, sanitary systems, roofs – and there is an opportunity to reuse it and dedicate it to vegetation that fulfills a climatic role,” he suggests.
Regarding material selection, Prieto cautions against “one-size-fits-all” recipes, emphasizing the need to consider various factors and balance their use. For example, steel heats up quickly but also loses heat rapidly. “A completely metallic warehouse, without insulation, turns into an oven. But a well-insulated building, with exterior surfaces that reflect more than they absorb, can perform much better thermally,” he explains.
In cities with Santiago’s climate, the use of glass and large windows can exacerbate the situation, turning buildings into greenhouses, even with solar control glass. Reducing the number or size of windows, improving insulation, and strategically managing ventilation could help lower indoor temperatures. “Sometimes, having fewer windows helps. The key is to keep spaces closed during the hottest hours and release the accumulated energy when the outside temperature drops,” he says.
Prieto has also explored hybrid solutions combining passive and active strategies, including subterranean ventilation leveraging the stable temperature of the ground, and capturing air in vegetated areas to cool it naturally before it enters the building. He also proposes integrating efficient cooling systems, such as electric chillers powered by solar energy, to address rising temperatures without increasing building energy loads.
The Economic Cost of Urban Heat
The impact of extreme heat is already being felt in the logistics real estate market. Joel Rascovsky, Head of Industrial & Logistics Brokerage at Cushman & Wakefield, notes that increased operational costs – primarily due to higher energy consumption for cooling, ventilation, and refrigeration – and increased maintenance demands are direct consequences. For end-users, this can translate to operational inefficiencies, adjustments to work schedules, and potential productivity losses during periods of extreme temperatures.
These factors are beginning to influence property valuation. Distribution centers with efficient design, good thermal insulation, and lower operating costs are becoming more in demand and resilient in the long term. Properties that don’t adapt may face reduced competitiveness, lower rental rates, and higher vacancy rates.
“The increasing frequency of heat waves is beginning to influence the evaluation and development of new distribution centers and is progressively being incorporated as an operational and design risk, especially in the central zone of the country, where much of the logistics infrastructure is concentrated,” Rascovsky states.
Even in the planning stages, project location is receiving more attention, avoiding areas with urban heat island effects and prioritizing sites with access to energy, water, and resilient connectivity. “At the design level, there is increasing demand for thermal insulation, efficient ventilation, passive solutions, and more efficient cooling systems, with the aim of reducing energy costs and ensuring operational continuity,” Rascovsky adds.
In building development and redevelopment, criteria such as building orientation, reducing direct solar radiation on critical facades, using materials with higher thermal insulation, light-colored or reflective roofs and facades, and shading solutions are gaining relevance. Roofs are increasingly incorporating cool roofs, photovoltaic systems, and structures prepared for future technological expansions.
While the Chilean market is adopting some of these technologies, Rascovsky believes the adoption rate is still gradual and uneven. “In new, large-scale projects or those driven by institutional investors, there is already early concern for thermal efficiency, energy consumption, and operational resilience in the face of heat waves. However, in a significant part of the market, these criteria are still addressed reactively, once the asset is in operation and faces higher costs or demands from users,” he indicates.
Heat Waves and Fire Risk
High temperatures also increase the risk of fires in warehousing and distribution centers. Between December 2025 and January 2026 – coinciding with peak temperatures – numerous fires occurred in logistics facilities in the Metropolitan Region. On January 11th, a significant fire near the airport in Pudahuel occurred when temperatures in some parts of Santiago exceeded 37°C.
This represents not coincidental. Heat extremes elevate the thermal load of facilities, potentially causing equipment overheating or spontaneous combustion of flammable materials. The heat and low humidity also facilitate rapid fire spread. The type of materials stored also contributes to fire extension in heat wave conditions.
These events reinforce the importance of incorporating extreme heat as a structural variable in urban and industrial risk management. This should begin with project design, integrating resilience criteria, operational safety, and urban planning into logistics infrastructure. Operationally, reinforced preventative measures during hot days – such as reviewing electrical installations and limiting risk activities – and emergency plans that include power outages, evacuations, and safeguarding workers in critical facilities are also required.
