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this post was submitted on 22 Jun 2024
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AC is very unusual in France, maybe a bit more in the south but even there it's rare, the houses are just built with good natural insulation and temperature regulation, stone walls, concrete walls with air gaps, etc.
As far as Paris is concerned, we're actually extremely ill-prepared for high heats. Parisians have the highest risk of heat-related death in Europe. Hardware stores are packed with AC units every summer now because people are forced to start using them. Luckily we've had terrible weather so far this summer, fingers crossed it stays that way.
Heat is actually surprisingly easy to moderate with green spaces, water, shade, and wind.
Unfortunately, roads, roofs, and buildings fuck that all up.
Plant trees along every road. Line every building roof with greenery. Water that greenery, and centrally control how it's watered to create temperature/humidity differentials and thus wind throughout the entire city.
I wouldn't say it's surprisingly easy. It's possible, but it comes with substantial costs. Paris is throwing a ton of money at some of the solutions you've mentioned and the results are meager at best. Hopefully they'll improve as time goes on.