Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p>The urban heat island (UHI) effect is an escalating challenge in cities worldwide, characterized by elevated temperatures relative to their rural surroundings. Rapid urbanization and climate change are intensifying urban heat island (UHI) effects across Sub-Saharan African cities, posing growing challenges for public health, environmental sustainability, and urban resilience. Despite increasing thermal vulnerability, integrated and context-specific mitigation strategies remain underexplored in tropical African urban environments. This study investigates the synergistic potential of three complementary UHI mitigation strategies cool paving materials, urban biodiversity enhancement, and green roofs in Douala, Cameroon, while also examining the feasibility, equity, and governance challenges associated with their implementation within the city's social, economic, and institutional context. To evaluate the efficacy of this multi-faceted strategy, seven distribution maps were created using Landsat 8–9 satellite data from the Climate Engine Earth Explorer. The data was processed in ArcGIS Pro to derive land surface temperature, NDVI, NDWI, and NDBI. We employ the ENVI-met microclimate modeling software, renowned for its capacity to simulate complex urban environments. This software enables detailed assessments of thermal performance at the street level, considering parameters such as surface and air temperatures, solar radiation, and wind flow. Simulation results indicate that the integrated implementation of cool pavements, urban biodiversity, and green roofs can reduce near-surface air temperature simulated by up to 2.42°C, outperforming individual mitigation strategies. Beyond their thermal effectiveness, the findings highlight the importance of considering socio-economic feasibility, governance capacity, and equitable access when developing urban climate adaptation strategies in rapidly urbanizing African cities. By linking technical performance with broader societal and sustainability considerations, this study contributes to a more transdisciplinary understanding of urban heat mitigation and provides insights for climate-sensitive urban planning and resilience-building across Sub-Saharan Africa.</p>