Cuers upgrades streets and schools for summer heat

Cuers – 03.08.2026: The southern French municipality of Cuers in the Var department is expanding its program to adapt to more frequent heatwaves. Since 2022, it has been redesigning streets, schools and recreational areas so that public spaces heat up less during the summer. The project gained additional urgency following the exceptionally hot and dry June 2026, which, according to the French research center CEA, was the warmest June on record in France and Western Europe.

One focus is on the composition of streets and public squares. The municipality cites its own measurements, in which black asphalt in direct sunlight reached a surface temperature of up to 61 degrees Celsius. In the shade, the same surface measured 31 degrees. According to the figures, ochre-colored road surfacing remained up to 15 degrees cooler at the surface than black asphalt. The values refer to ground temperature, not ambient air temperature.

At Marcel Pagnol School, the municipality replaced the black asphalt in the courtyard with a lighter, water-permeable surface. It is intended to store less heat and allow rainwater to seep away more easily. In Rue Carnot in the town center, the roadway and sidewalks were also renewed with ochre-colored materials. A plant-based binder was used on parts of the sidewalk.

In addition to surfaces, Cuers is relying on greenery and shade. At the beginning of 2023, the municipality said it planted 26 trees at locations where former trees had not been replaced for decades. A planting plan for 2024 to 2026 provided for additional trees and cooler areas within the municipality. Where the densely built urban area does not allow planting, shade sails or other shade structures are intended to reduce direct solar radiation.

Schools are receiving particular attention. For the renovation of the historic Jean Jaurès 1 and 2 buildings, the municipality cites a large canopy, external sun-protection elements and a schoolyard adapted to high temperatures. Additional courtyards are to be depaved, greened or shaded. Sports and recreational areas, along with streets, buildings and local building regulations, form another area of work in the municipal concept.

The redesign entails higher costs. According to the municipal administration, ochre-colored asphalt is significantly more expensive than conventional black surfacing; tree planting is also demanding in the densely built town center. Researchers at the CEA and the Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace attribute the severe urban heat burden partly to dry soils, dense development and limited nighttime cooling. Cuers is therefore linking the investments to changes in its local urban planning.