Affiliation:
1. School of Spatial Planning and Development, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
2. School of Architecture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Abstract
The improvement of the urban microclimate in the densely-built central areas of Mediterranean cities should be a key objective of integrated urban and transport planning and design in accordance with the UN Sustainable Development Goals on energy, sustainable cities, and climate action. The urban climate of cities in warm regions, already burdened by the urban heat island effect, is expected to worsen further due to the global climate crisis. This study investigates the performance of common environmental street design strategies on microclimate, thermal comfort, and air quality under extreme heat conditions in the Mediterranean city of Thessaloniki, Greece. A typology of streets was selected using criteria such as road functional classification and orientation, land uses, building height/street width ratio, the sky view factor, and the continuity/discontinuity of buildings. A conservative scenario (use of cool/photocatalytic and porous materials for sidewalks, lighter pavements, additional tree planting, installations of green roofs) and a radical scenario (pedestrianization and total traffic prohibition) of environmental design interventions were simulated using the ENVI-met 5.1 software. The research findings demonstrated that the car-free interventions combined with the use of environmentally friendly materials in the public realm could significantly reduce the heat island effect and mitigate gaseous pollutants. The perceived air temperature (Physiological Equivalent Temperature—PET index) can decrease by up to 15 °C in well-shaded locations and near building corners, while nitrogen oxides can be reduced by up to 87% when considering a more radical pedestrianization scenario. The standardization of environmental interventions following a typology of urban streets could support planners and decision-makers in detecting the appropriate solutions for improving the urban microclimate.
Subject
Nature and Landscape Conservation,Ecology,Global and Planetary Change
Reference46 articles.
1. What Is the Purpose of Urban Climate Resilience? Implications for Addressing Poverty and Vulnerability;Friend;Urban Clim.,2013
2. Pickett, S., Cadenasso, M., and McGrath, B. (2013). Resilience in Ecology and Urban Design, Springer.
3. Defining Urban Resilience: A Review;Meerow;Landsc. Urban Plan.,2016
4. Indicators of Urban Climate Resilience: A Contextual Approach;Tyler;Environ. Sci. Policy,2016
5. Are High-Density Districts More Vulnerable to the COVID-19 Pandemic?;Sharifi;Sustain. Cities Soc.,2021
Cited by
1 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献