The Role of Vegetation in Climate Adaptability: Case Studies of Lodz and Warsaw

<p>The threats that arise from climate change and their associated economic, social, and environmental impacts are leading to the transformation of the spatial structures of cities. The growing demand for climate adaptability calls for the development of normative criteria for the design of forms of urban settings that integrate vegetation. Climate-responsive urban design reacts to the challenges of urban physics, which depend heavily on the forms of urban structures and the role of greenery. This method includes research on vegetation indexes and their impact on urban regulatory functions. The goal is to propose a comprehensive framework for assessing the functioning of urban public space, which considers the role and maintenance of green infrastructure. The intersection with the subject matter of analytical urban morphology is evident, in terms of the resolution of the urban fabric and its transformations over time. The framework of climate-responsive urban design also covers examining the parameters of surrounding built structures, such as the floor area ratio, the building coverage ratio, and building heights. In particular, the requirements of climate adaptation have an impact on the design of outdoor spaces in cities. In this article, we apply the selected methods that contribute to the climate-responsive urban design model to recommend the transformations of two urban nodes, in Lodz and Warsaw (Poland). Our goal is to indicate the future form of nodal public spaces with a focus on the needs of urban greenery, and to determine indicators for the local climate zone. After an initial literature review, we discuss a number of available indicators from the perspective of how they might contribute to determine the environmental conditions. We focus on urban water cycle, the requirement of trees for water, and insolation conditions.</p>

Comprehensive Assessment of Thermal Comfort and Indoor Environment of Traditional Historic Stilt House, a Case of Dong Minority Dwelling, China

The stilt house is one of the most representative of Chinese architecture among national minority traditional dwellings, most of which are located in mountainous regions whose climate is characterized by hot summers and cold winters. Moreover, it is widely distributed in Southeast Asian countries, such as Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, etc., as well as tropics like Hawaii, Guam. These kinds of dwellings have unique architectural aesthetics as well as high climate adaptability. However, because of their remote locations and rapid disappearance in urbanization, few studies have focused on their real indoor environment and thermal comfort. More studies were engaged in their architectural aesthetics and space patterns. In this study, based on the measurement and evaluation of residential natural lighting, ventilation, air quality, and thermal comfort in traditional stilt Dong village houses, the air temperature, humidity, CO2 and PM2.5 concentrations, wind speed, direction, and other variables are monitored and analyzed. Results show that the inhabitants have a higher thermal comfort adaptation than urban residents under natural ventilation. Meanwhile, the humidity of Dong stilt dwelling can reach a satisfactory level within 24 h except for the morning period. The satisfaction of the acoustic environment needs to be improved via reasonable structural maintenance.

The climate adaptability evaluation of biogas fermentation assisted by solar greenhouse

The production efficiency of biogas digesters is largely restricted by the low environment temperature in winter, for most regions of China. As a feasible means of warming and heat preservation, solar greenhouse has the ability to expand the application scope and service time of biogas in rural China. The evaluation of climate adaptability of solar greenhouse is of great importance and imminent, due to the fact that both solar energy and biomass resources are affected by climate. In this paper, a complete evaluation index system for climate adaptability of biogas fermentation assisted by solar greenhouse was established. The indicators of the evaluation index system were selected by means of frequency analysis and theoretical analysis. The weights of the indicators, including solar radiation, outdoor air temperature, crop yields and human and animal manure, were determined by analytic hierarchy process combined with literature research, and the scoring rules were based on the objective significance of each indicator. The climate adaptability of typical cities in the Yangtze River Delta was evaluated with the evaluation index system. Among the cities, Hefei shows the best comprehensive adaptability, and then is Xuzhou, Shanghai, Nanjing, and the lowest adaptability, Hangzhou. The comprehensive adaptability results of these cities depend not only on the gas production capacity, but also on the biomass resource and solar radiation.

Climate Adaptability of Old and New House in Bushehr's Historical Texture

The port of Bushehr, with its valuable and unique historical texture, completely matches with its unbearable climate conditions. Over hundreds of years, the port has provided an appropriate ground for human life as no air conditioner is needed there. Unfortunately, this valuable old texture has been destroyed inadvertently. New buildings in the port are just superficial copies of the old buildings’ external surfaces, with no attention to their goal, i.e., the provision of thermal comfort for inhabitants. The new buildings are dramatically increasing without considering the historical texture and climate. As a result, the inhabitants have to use air conditioners in most months continuously; hence, there would be an increase in energy consumption and a disruption in climate balance. This study has been conducted to compare the compatibility of such architecture with the climate and its success in providing climate comfort for the inhabitants. According to the information obtained from the study, the old houses built more than 100 years ago using traditional design had better performance in adaptability with climate. Accordingly, the exploitation of traditional instructions and patterns in a new format would largely reduce energy consumption in hot seasons and eliminate the need for heating in cold seasons. In this regard, a huge amount of energy is saved, resulting in less damage to the environment.