Urban planning can help cities adapt to climate change, but we don't know how well different city designs can handle the heat. A study in Xiamen City, China, looked at how the city's layout affects urban heat islands (UHIs). They found that factors like population density, green spaces, and road layout can make UHIs worse. The city's ability to cope with UHIs has been getting worse over time, and will keep getting worse if urban planning doesn't change. City managers need to rethink how they plan cities to make them more resilient to climate change.