FEATURES AND MODULES ON ACTUAL

Data_Layer_Mashups #Features. Our urban environments were designed for cooler temperatures, historically not accounting for how buildings, roads, and infrastructure absorb and re-emit heat, known as the urban heat island effect. Despite standard practices, both measured temperatures and the urban heat island effect significantly influence the heat index, which directly impacts what temperatures really feel like. 

How does this apply to you? Large datasets and fragmented processes can make it challenging for teams—from sustainability to finance to operations—to see the whole picture and other factors necessary to make informed decisions. Companies often get lost in the numbers piled in multiple spreadsheets, making it difficult to uncover insights that aren’t immediately obvious.

ACTUAL takes a model-first, data-second approach. While many companies hesitate in sustainable investment efforts due to a perceived lack of data, our platform begins with a foundation in science. By building scientific models to identify high-priority areas, ACTUAL allows you to visualize and analyze multiple data layers in one place—whether you're dealing with geospatial models, spreadsheets, or financial calculations—enabling you to integrate data to tell a compelling story. By overlaying these datasets, you can quickly pinpoint priority areas and grasp cascading impacts across your assets, as demonstrated in the heat index analysis.

Pick_and_Choose #Features. In our previous edition, we illustrated how heat indexes can change dramatically from block to block depending on bus shelter placement, highlighting the importance of localized analysis and flexible solutions. Not every investment is a one-size-fits-all, further requiring detailed analysis at the site level.

How does this apply to you? Large projects often face delays due to costs and associated risks. Especially for multi-million dollar projects, it's crucial for planning teams to have confidence that investments are both secure and worthwhile, which is often a major bottleneck between the planning and implementation process. Without thorough project analyses, CFOs and capital planning teams may encounter unexpected expenses during implementation beyond budget projections.

The optionality feature on ACTUAL not only uncovers subtle nuances but also allows decision makers to "test" potential solutions to identify risks and make more informed decisions. Some bus stops might only need partial shade shelters due to low ridership, while others require full-sized shelters to shade away riders from extreme heat on major bus routes. Additionally, it’s not just limited to size—choosing the right materials, from metal to polycarbonate, or planting more vegetation nearby are also factors that can further be analyzed. 

Bus shelters offer significant advertising revenue potential, with rates influenced by factors like ridership data, size, and medium (digital or print). Decision-makers can evaluate how initial capital investments, maintenance costs, and city contracts impact long-term returns. By building tailored financial models, ACTUAL helps pinpoint priority investment areas and track performance across your entire portfolio.

Heat_Map #Module. Leveraging heat maps for decision-making is crucial as temperatures continue to rise with direct impacts on health and safety as well as energy resilience. Beyond bus shelters, how does this impact you?

• Health and Safety. The case study of bus shelters highlights the essential need for thermal comfort, especially experienced in lower-income and minority communities. With livelihoods impacted by extreme heat, ensuring physical health and safety is pivotal. The heat map analysis extends beyond public transportation and can be applied across various industries:

• Healthcare companies need to prepare for heat wave seasons by updating emergency protocols and collaborating with utility companies to safeguard power during outages, as the risk of heat-related illnesses is expected to rise.

• Construction companies need to strategically plan timelines and protect laborers from extreme heat, especially in regions like New York, where summer temperatures exceed OSHA safety regulations.

• Concrete production companies need to identify regions of high heat indexes and supply low albedo concrete as cities increasingly adopt mandates on lower-emission materials.

Energy Resilience. Each year, thousands of households, businesses, and healthcare facilities face power outages due to extreme heat waves. Recent studies show that blackouts are most frequent and prolonged during summers, with the risk worsening as heat waves intensify. As a result, companies must factor in heat-related considerations for both future investments and current assets.

• Real estate developers need to analyze surrounding urban heat island effects and invest in heat-resilient infrastructure, as energy-efficient and heat-resistant materials will deliver greater long-term returns.

• Utilities companies need to prepare for increased electricity demand as more EVs hit the road and warmer summers increase the use of air conditioning. Renewable generation and storage can help meet demand while generating superior ROI. 

• Data centers need to strategically choose locations that can withstand extreme heat, as this not only risks outages but also increases the energy required for cooling systems.

As we enter autumn in the month of October, cities like San Francisco continue to endure intense heat with record-breaking temperatures. We experience the impact of this heat firsthand each summer in our built environments. As industries and cities adapt to this new reality, change can first start by building bus shelters.