Paved gardens worsen night-time heat
Thursday 16th July, 2026
Scientists say paving front gardens across the UK is raising night-time urban temperatures and worsening heatwave impacts by removing evaporative cooling and storing daytime heat.
This gives Rightmove a chance to talk about how property choices — driveways, permeable surfaces and front‑garden planting — affect neighbour cooling, flood risk and long‑term home value in the UK.
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Why have we flagged this?
This research links changing front gardens to urban heat and flood risk—issues that directly affect property values, buyer/renter preferences and estate agent advice you can quantify or comment on.
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Newsjack
Rightmove launches ‘cool kerb appeal’ filter streets list
Publish a fast list of UK streets with the leafiest frontages from current listings and invite sellers to add simple cooling fixes before listing.
Newsjack angle: Create and pitch a rapid ‘cool kerb appeal’ roundup using current listings imagery, plus a one-page seller checklist for heat-ready fronts to home and lifestyle desks.
Why: A practical, visual hook lets media show before-and-after ideas and name real streets readers recognise.
Data idea
Where paved streets trap the most heat
Use listing photos to map which neighbourhoods have the highest share of paved front gardens, spotlighting heat risk streets by postcode.
Data to investigate: Analyse your listing photo library with a simple image-tagging sweep to calculate the percentage of front gardens that are paved by postcode district.
Why: A localised, first-of-its-kind map ties a national climate story to places people live, with clear, nameable hotspots journalists can lead on.