Assessing the Cooling Potential of Tailing Piles for Urban Heat Mitigation in Germany’s Ruhr Metropolitan Area—A Case Study of the Rungenberg in Gelsenkrichen

Elevated air temperatures in cities with potential negative effects on, e.g., residents are a major challenge for urban planning. Open green spaces on hills where at night can cool and drain into residential areas of great importance to ameliorate the heat load areas. In Ruhr Metropolitan Region Germany, tailing piles from former coal mining industry offer previously neglected cooling neighbourhoods. The genesis drainage cold have not been extensively investigated so far. Tailing often located or nearby exposed as open spaces, build up surrounding neighbourhoods due their slopes. present study, empirically using thermal infrared imagery temperature measurements during one 2019 Rungenberg pile Gelsenkirchen. Furthermore, effect adjacent area, Schüngelberg, was studied. results indicate that builds drains Schüngelberg. However, flow area blocked by brick wall foot pile. More awareness should be given piles, planners improve this keeping removing barriers pathways order alleviate heat.