scholarly journals Climate Adaptive Design Index for the Built Environment (CADI-BE): An Assessment System of the Adaptive Capacity to Urban Temperatures Increase

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 4630
Author(s):  
Eduardo Bassolino ◽  
Maria Cerreta
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Adaptive Design ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Urban Transformation ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Open Spaces ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
Island Effect ◽  
Urban Heat

In a scenario in which the climate changes subject urban centres and large cities to high levels of environmental vulnerability and criticality underway, it is evident the need to define operational and straightforward decision-making tools capable of prefiguring and verifying the effectiveness of urban transformation climate-adaptive regeneration processes. The Climate Adaptive Design Index for the Built Environment (CADI-BE) tool has been developed to assess the adaptive capacity and level of performance of open urban spaces to the stresses due to the increase in global average temperatures. The repercussions of these phenomena cause the occurrence of heatwaves and the urban heat island effect (UHI), bringing out the inability of cities to cope with changes in the climate, making urban open spaces unlivable and no longer the ideal habitat for everyday life and social interactions.

scholarly journals Bioclimatic Architecture and Urban Morphology. Studies on Intermediate Urban Open Spaces

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 5819
Author(s):  
Alessandra Battisti
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Urban Heat Island ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Morphology ◽  
Urban Heat Island Effect ◽  
Heat Island ◽  
Open Spaces ◽  
Physiological Equivalent Temperature ◽  
Island Effect ◽  
Urban Heat

This paper deals with the interactions between biophysical and microclimatic factors on the one hand with, on the other, the urban morphology of intermediate urban open spaces, the relationship between environmental and bioclimatic thermal comfort, and the implementation of innovative materials and the use of greenery, aimed at the users’ well-being. In particular, the thermal comfort of the open spaces of the consolidated fabrics of the city of Rome is studied, by carrying out simulations of cooling strategies relating to two scenarios applied to Piazza Bainsizza. The first scenario involves the use of cool materials for roofs, cladding surfaces, and pavement, while the second scenario, in addition to the cool materials employed in the first scenario, also includes the use of greenery and permeable green surfaces. The research was performed using summer and winter microclimatic simulations of the CFD (ENVI-met v. 3.1) type, in order to determine the different influences of the materials with cold colors, trees, and vegetated surfaces on the thermal comfort of the urban morphology itself. Meanwhile, the comfort assessment was determined through the physiological equivalent temperature (PET) calculated with the RayMan program. The first scenario, with the use of cool materials, improves summer conditions and reduces the urban heat island effect but does not eliminate thermal discomfort due to the lack of shaded surfaces and vegetation. The second scenario, where material renovations is matched with vegetation improvements, has a slightly bad effect on winter conditions but drastically ameliorates the summer situation, both for direct users and, thanks to the strong reduction of the urban heat island effect, to urban inhabitants as a whole.

scholarly journals Detecting the Cool Island Effect of Urban Parks in Wuhan: A City on Rivers

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 132
Author(s):  
Qijiao Xie ◽  
Jing Li
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Urban Parks ◽  
High Water ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Heat Island ◽  
Island Effect ◽  
Urban Heat

As a nature-based solution, development of urban blue-green spaces is widely accepted for mitigating the urban heat island (UHI) effect. It is of great significance to determine the main driving factors of the park cool island (PCI) effect for optimizing park layout and achieving a maximum cooling benefit of urban parks. However, there have been obviously controversial conclusions in previous studies due to varied case contexts. This study was conducted in Wuhan, a city with high water coverage, which has significant differences in context with the previous case cities. The PCI intensity and its correlation with park characteristics were investigated based on remote sensing data. The results indicated that 36 out of 40 urban parks expressed a PCI effect, with a PCI intensity of 0.08~7.29 °C. As expected, larger parks with enough width had stronger PCI intensity. An increased density of hardened elements in a park could significantly weaken PCI effect. Noticeably, in this study, water bodies in a park contributed the most to the PCI effect of urban parks, while the vegetated areas showed a negative impact on the PCI intensity. It implied that in a context with higher water coverage, the cooling effect of vegetation was weakened or even masked by water bodies, due to the interaction effect of different variables on PCI intensity.

scholarly journals Cooling Effect of Different Land Cover Types: A Case Study in Xi’an and Xianyang, China

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1099
Author(s):  
Yuhe Ma ◽  
Mudan Zhao ◽  
Jianbo Li ◽  
Jian Wang ◽  
Lifa Hu
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Urban Heat Island ◽  
Land Surface Temperature ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Cooling Effect ◽  
Heat Island ◽  
Land Cover Types ◽  
Island Effect ◽  
Urban Heat

One of the climate problems caused by rapid urbanization is the urban heat island effect, which directly threatens the human survival environment. In general, some land cover types, such as vegetation and water, are generally considered to alleviate the urban heat island effect, because these landscapes can significantly reduce the temperature of the surrounding environment, known as the cold island effect. However, this phenomenon varies over different geographical locations, climates, and other environmental factors. Therefore, how to reasonably configure these land cover types with the cooling effect from the perspective of urban planning is a great challenge, and it is necessary to find the regularity of this effect by designing experiments in more cities. In this study, land cover (LC) classification and land surface temperature (LST) of Xi’an, Xianyang and its surrounding areas were obtained by Landsat-8 images. The land types with cooling effect were identified and their ideal configuration was discussed through grid analysis, distance analysis, landscape index analysis and correlation analysis. The results showed that an obvious cooling effect occurred in both woodland and water at different spatial scales. The cooling distance of woodland is 330 m, much more than that of water (180 m), but the land surface temperature around water decreased more than that around the woodland within the cooling distance. In the specific urban planning cases, woodland can be designed with a complex shape, high tree planting density and large planting areas while water bodies with large patch areas to cool the densely built-up areas. The results of this study have utility for researchers, urban planners and urban designers seeking how to efficiently and reasonably rearrange landscapes with cooling effect and in urban land design, which is of great significance to improve urban heat island problem.

The Urban Spatial Pattern of the Pseudo-Colonial City in Southeast Asia: A Case Study of the Eastern Area of Bangkok, Thailand, during the Thai-Imperialism Period (1855-1932)

2021 ◽  
pp. 009614422110129
Author(s):  
Nicha Tantivess ◽  
David J. Edelman
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Educational Development ◽  
Transitional Zone ◽  
Administrative Reform ◽  
Urban Transformation ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Eastern Area ◽  
Commercial Center ◽  
Administrative Center

This article discusses the urban spaces of the pseudo-colonial city via the urban transformation in the eastern area of Bangkok between 1855 and 1932. During this period, the Thai royal government was under pressure from colonialism in the Southeast Asian region. To prevent colonization of the country, the kings aimed to strengthen their economic and political powers through administrative reform, educational development, infrastructure construction, and land commodification Thus, the urban spaces in Bangkok were significantly transformed. The eastern area became a transitional zone between the administrative center of the royal government and the commercial center where foreign traders resided. Furthermore, this transitional zone continued expanding into the area of rural communities, and, consequently, the traditional settlements of the local people gradually lost population.

scholarly journals Analysis of Urban Transformation Through the Use of Expanded Research Tools

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 215824402110383
Author(s):  
Ana Elena Builes-Vélez ◽  
Lina María Suárez Velásquez ◽  
Leonardo Correa Velásquez ◽  
Diana Carolina Gutiérrez Aristizábal
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Urban Studies ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Urban Transformation ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Design Development ◽  
New Methods ◽  
The Social ◽  
American Cities ◽  
Research Tools

In recent years, urban design development has been an important topic in Latin American cities such as Medellín due to the transformation of their urban spaces, along with the new methods used to evaluate the social, morphological, and, in some cases, economic impacts that have been brought about by the urban development projects. When inquiring about the development process and impact of urban studies, and the inhabitants’ relation to a transformed space, it is important to establish the context within which images, drawings, and photographs are analyzed, using graphical approaches triangulated with other research methods to define comparative criteria. In this article, we reflect on the expanded use of various research tools for the analysis of urban transformation, taking with reference the experience lived by a group of researchers in two Latin American cities. From this, it is intended to understand how they work and how they allow us to understand the urban transformation of these cities, the data obtained, and the vision of the researchers.

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