Exposure to excessive heat is responsible for thousands of deaths and emergency room visits annually in the United States. Due to climate change, Texas cities have been warming faster than the rest of the world. Within 25 years, the number of 100 F days is expected to double. Cities are even more vulnerable than the countryside due to the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. (Bielson-Gammon 2021)Adapting cities to this new climate reality is critical to ensure the vitality of public spaces and the health of urban dwellers. This major research project (MRP) evaluates the most effective means to reduce UHI at a neighborhood scale in a humid subtropical context. The MRP presents two massing frameworks and nine toolkit items that can be used by architects and urban designers to lower the air temperature and improve human thermal comfort.