When really bad heat waves hit Europe where home AC is rare, they can kill thousands (mostly elderly).

The 2003 heatwave killed upwards of 70,000 people (in France, 8 consecutive days of 40°C [104 °F], in the Netherlands it reached 37.8°C) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_European_heat_wave

This is what really scares me about cities like Phoenix, that can get so hot, have a high elderly population, and are increasingly vulnerable to blackouts. What is going to happen if the city loses power on a 110 degree day?

Some of them will die.

It's that brutal. It's also something people used to do a lot of, especially if they were working outdoors.

I've seen house designs for the South which have an open central corridor. It catches and channels any wind and helps cools the rooms on either side.

I'm sure there are other tricks, but builders don't seem to know them any more, and architects build more with a view to looks than practicality.

Modern architecture - whether it's McMansion design, concrete box design, glass tower design, or suburban vernacular design - can be almost criminally stupid about environmental issues.

There are exceptions, especially in the occasional environmentally controlled low-energy office block.

The reality is that it's possible to manage heating and cooling far more intelligently and effectively in most kinds of buildings. But it's considered a fringe eco-hippy interest and not something most of the population needs to care about.

> But it's considered a fringe eco-hippy interest and not something most of the population needs to care about.

Here in Arizona, if we built things for cooling more like in the middle east (windcatchers/solar chimneys/qanats + thick walled rammed earth and/or monolithic domes), it would probably be more energy efficient.

But I can't imagine that style would go over well with our current (overall) political climate here...

Do you have any recommendations or resources on this topic?

I've never visited Phoenix but isn't it the humidity combined with temperature that makes it unbearable?

Here in NY, with high humidity it can be upper 80s or low 90s outside but when you factor in the humidity you have no way to cool off. You can be laying down doing nothing but dripping in sweat. Combine that with being in an apartment that's on the upper floor with bad insulation and forget it. I imagine it's even worse in places like Florida.

It's also crazy how big of a difference there is between an upper floor that's poorly insulated vs a basement. You can expect a 15-20f degree difference.

Humidity makes a huge difference that is true. But even if it is 0% Humidity Phoenix regularly gets over 110 degrees Fahrenheit, which is more than hot enough to kill.

In North Central Florida where temps get up to 100 or 110 (we're not on the coast) AC feels like it is necessary but I've known of people who have lived here without it. A series of fans and knowing which windows to leave open and when is the key. It's all in the construction of the house too. When people immigrated from Europe to the southern United States the typical construction of these houses was a very tall house with giant windows which open up. Since heat rises these early houses were built around this premise and people around here have been here a long time. Otherwise ice arrived by train and was placed next to a fan which was mechanically operated or by hand in the old days. My native ancestors from this area lived in log cabins (not teepees or huts as commonly described in history books) and the wall-less thatched structures were communal gathering spots not their actual homes. Modern construction with all the prefab elements and insulation is suffocating in my opinion and this is why, by choice, I live in a wooden house although yes I do have AC and enjoy it very much.

I'm from FL and I remember houses used to be built to help with the heat. It was still hot, but you'd have porches and eaves to block the sun and windows situated such that you could open them to create airflow through the house. Now, everything is a sealed box so AC is absolutely necessary.

You should invest in a very good, decently large fan, and when this happens, have it blowing on you while you sleep. When truly miserable mist yourself with a spray bottle of water, and then sit in front of the fan. Evaporation of your sweat and evaporation of the sprayed water both hep bring down your body temperature.

A wet rag works great too

Design is a huge difference. Old houses have high cielings to trap heat and vent easily with windows open. Hallways are arranged to move air across the house. Modern construction generally doesn’t take any of this into account because ac is the bandaid for bad design.