Pavements occupy about 40% of urban land cover, with 75–80% black top roads, playing a critical role in urban connectivity and mobility. Solar energy is absorbed and stored in pavements leading to an increase in surface temperatures. Decreasing green cover is further contributing to rise in regional temperatures. Due to this activity, the city experiences urban heat island (UHI). This study presents a critical review of the literature on mitigation measures to combat UHI using reflective pavements with an emphasis on durability properties and impacts of tree canopy. The strategies with a focus on application of chip seals, white toppings, and coatings were discussed. Role of surface reflectance, including those from asphalt and concrete pavements, albedo improvements, and technological trends, application of waste materials, and industrial by-products are presented. Also, urban tree shading systems’ contribution to pavement temperature and microclimate systems is presented. The review shows that the development of mitigation measures using tree shading systems can reduce the pavement temperature during daytime and increase human thermal comfort. The outcomes of this review provide a scope for future studies to develop sustainable and state-of-the-art engineering solutions in the field of reflective coatings and urban forest systems.

The Australian Green Infrastructure Council (AGIC) is currently leading a new approach to the delivering and operating of infrastructure through a more careful examination of the carbon footprint of construction activities. Using a life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, this paper presents life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy analysis of the Engineering Pavilion (hereinafter referred to as Building 216), at Curtin University Western Australia. The University utilises a Building Management System (BMS) to reduce its overall operational energy consumption.This LCA analysis employed a ‘mining to use’ approach, in other words, the analysis takes into account all of the stages up to the utilisation stage. The life cycle GHG emissions and embodied energy of Building 216 were calculated to be 14,229tonne CO2-e and 172TJ, respectively. This paper identified the ‘hotspots’, or the stages in production and operation of Building 216 that were the cause of the majority of the GHG emissions. From this, proposals for further improvements in environmental management may be made. The usage stage of the building produces 63% less GHG emissions than the University average, due to the implementation of the BMS. This system has played a significant role in reducing the total embodied energy consumption of the building (i.e., 20% less than the University average)