Assess learners' understanding of the urban heat island effect, including physical causes (surface albedo, reduced evapotranspiration, anthropogenic heat), environmental and public-health impacts (temperature extremes, energy demand, air quality, ecosystem stress), and mitigation strategies (green infrastructure, cool roofs/pavements, urban forestry, land-use planning, policy); require analysis of case examples, evaluation of strategy effectiveness, and application of concepts to propose solutions for a given urban scenario.