Gwangju Nam-gu to Establish 'Heatwave Safety Village' in Wolsan-dong Next Year

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[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Nam-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, is launching a Heatwave Safety Village project in Wolsan-dong, an area with many vulnerable groups to heatwaves such as the elderly and elderly living alone.

Nam-gu announced on the 24th that it was selected for the Ministry of Environment's '2023 Climate Change Vulnerable Groups and Vulnerable Areas' public contest project and will implement the Heatwave Safety Village project from next year by installing cool roofs and cool walls in the Wolsan-dong village.

The Heatwave Safety Village project is designed to protect the lives and health of vulnerable residents by installing heatwave prevention facilities in areas densely populated by vulnerable groups.

The project budget is about 300 million KRW, and cool roofs and cool walls that block heat inflow to lower indoor temperatures will be installed in 56 vulnerable households in Wolsan-dong and six multi-use facilities frequently used by vulnerable residents, such as senior centers, welfare centers for the elderly, and social welfare centers.

Cool roofs and cool walls function by covering the rooftops and walls of buildings with heat-blocking functional heat-reflective paint, reflecting sunlight absorbed by the exterior surfaces of buildings.

These are heatwave prevention facilities that lower indoor temperatures, improve cooling efficiency, and reduce energy costs.

The reason Wolsan-dong was chosen as the project area is that it is the most vulnerable place in Nam-gu in terms of climate change exposure index and adaptability.

In particular, the ratio of climate change vulnerable groups to the population in Wolsan-dong is significantly higher than the average ratio in Nam-gu.

The proportion of elderly aged 65 and over and elderly living alone reaches 37% (Nam-gu average 22.42%), and the proportions of basic livelihood security recipients and disabled persons are 8.21% (Nam-gu average 5.89%) and 7.07% (Nam-gu average 5.20%), respectively.

A Nam-gu official said, “Due to severe heatwaves and tropical nights caused by rising summer temperatures, the healthy lives of climate change vulnerable residents are threatened, so we decided to promote the Heatwave Safety Village project in Wolsan-dong,” adding, “We will accelerate the project to protect residents' lives and reduce energy costs.”

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