As cities worldwide grow and redevelop, the threats of water security and reliability and extreme heat become increasingly urgent to understand and manage, especially under climate change. Intensified heterogeneity of increasingly developed urban landscapes alters biophysical processes that govern heat and water cycles. Historical policies of disinvestment and segregation engender inequitable exposure to environmental health risks posed by these altered feedbacks between heat and water dynamics. Quantifying heat-water-vegetation relationships in urban landscapes is thus critical to adapt and manage cities for equitable human and environmental health.

We invite submissions that use any combination of field observations, remote sensing, or modeling to (1) understand the physics of the local water cycle and surface energy balance of urban lands, (2) identify the role of landscape heterogeneity and vegetation in moderating urban heat and water dynamics, and (3) provide insights into sustainable and equitable management of urban environments.

• GC - Global Environmental Change