Urban Climate Mitigation Techniques and Technologies

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Climatology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2022) | Viewed by 6386

Special Issue Editors

1. Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Patras, 26504 Rio, Greece
2. Faculty of Civil Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: urban climate simulation; urban heat island mitigation; building’s energy efficiency
Department of Meteorology and Climatology, School of Geology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University Campus, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: climate variability; artificial neural networks; atmosphere; regional climate modeling; extreme events
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The journal Atmosphere launches a new Special Issue on Urban Climate Mitigation Techniques and Technologies and, as the Special Issue Editors, we would like to invite you to contribute your research achievements in this field.

In the context of the increased urban population growth and despite the multiple facilities offered to the citizens of large cities concerning health, education, and technical knowledge, major worrying issues have also arisen, with the most important involving the urban warming and the urban heat island effect. In addition, according to the latest scientific reports of the IPCC, the ongoing climate change and global warming is expected to exacerbate the worrying environmental conditions on the already degraded urban environment, affecting both human well-being and building’s energy performance.

Given the growing energy, environmental, and societal challenges imposed, the definition of suitable mitigation strategies that would lead to the attenuation of the phenomenon and the resilience of modern cities is more urgent than ever.

In this context, this Special Issue aims to invite high-quality studies, covering topics such as (a) the evaluation of the urban climate using numerical and/or experimental approaches, (b) the contribution of the urban heat island mitigation strategies on the improvement of the outdoor thermal environment, citizens’ thermal comfort and buildings’ energy performance, (c) the assessment of the effect of climate change challenges on the urban areas including extreme heatwaves and flash floods, and (d) the definition of performance indicators and decision support criteria for optimal urban design.

The selection of the papers for this Special Issue will be based both on their innovation and originality but also their scientific and applied findings, suggesting a valuable contribution in the scientific community.

Dr. Stella Tsoka
Dr. Konstantia Tolika
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Atmosphere is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

  • urban microclimate
  • urban heat island
  • mitigation strategies
  • cool materials
  • urban greenery
  • evaporative techniques
  • microclimate simulation
  • climate change

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 20761 KiB  
Article
Analysis of the Outdoor Microclimate and the Effects on Greek Cultural Heritage Using the Heritage Microclimate Risk (HMR) and Predicted Risk of Damage (PRD) Indices: Present and Future Simulations
by Efstathia Tringa and Konstantia Tolika
Atmosphere 2023, 14(4), 663; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14040663 - 31 Mar 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1658
Abstract
This study aims to assess the impacts of climate change on the cultural heritage of two Greek areas for both the present time and the future. As the climate is constantly evolving, cultural heritage is continuously exposed to the risk of damage and [...] Read more.
This study aims to assess the impacts of climate change on the cultural heritage of two Greek areas for both the present time and the future. As the climate is constantly evolving, cultural heritage is continuously exposed to the risk of damage and deterioration. Therefore, museum directors and boards as well as the national ministries must be informed so that measures and practices are adapted to the new climatic conditions. Greece is a country with immense cultural wealth, both tangible and intangible, which stretches back four and a half thousand years. As a homeland of important historical and cultural resources, Greece is vulnerable to climate change. Two up-to-date indices were applied to two Greek areas with high cultural value: Thessaloniki and Delphi. In order to evaluate the suitability of the microclimate and to assess the damage risk, the Heritage Microclimate Risk (HMR) index and the Predicted Risk of Damage (PRD) index were used for two variables: temperature and relative humidity. The study was carried out for three different time periods, the period 1980–2000 (hereafter, the reference period) and the future periods 2039–2059 and 2079–2099. For the reference period, data from three different sources were incorporated in the study (observed, reanalysis, and model data). The simulated data were derived from the Regional Climate Model RegCM4 with a fine spatial resolution of 10 × 10 km. In addition, the emission scenario RCP4.5 was used for the model’s future simulations. The present and future ideal outdoor climate conditions for the monuments were also estimated and are presented in this work. Overall, the future estimations revealed that the ideal outdoor temperature conditions will be higher compared to the reference period, meaning that the monuments will have to adapt to new warmer climate conditions. In addition to the new temperature conditions to which the monuments will have to adapt, the study showed that the monuments will be exposed to “moderate-maximum” risk more often in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Climate Mitigation Techniques and Technologies)
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23 pages, 7673 KiB  
Article
Evaluating the Impact of Urban Microclimate on Buildings’ Heating and Cooling Energy Demand Using a Co-Simulation Approach
by Stella Tsoka
Atmosphere 2023, 14(4), 652; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14040652 - 30 Mar 2023
Viewed by 1238
Abstract
The current research proposes an integrated computational method to consider the effect of the urban microclimate and the higher urban air temperatures on the assessment of urban building energy demands on an annual basis. A one-way coupling procedure is established to generate datasets [...] Read more.
The current research proposes an integrated computational method to consider the effect of the urban microclimate and the higher urban air temperatures on the assessment of urban building energy demands on an annual basis. A one-way coupling procedure is established to generate datasets on typical weather years that can capture the particularities of the urban microclimate as a function of their morphological and geometrical characteristics, thus providing a global perspective of the annual building energy performance at a reasonable computational cost. The proposed simulation method, here applied for an energy performance analysis of generic, non-insulated building units located in four different urban sites of Thessaloniki, Greece, is based on the three tools: (a) the ENVI-met v.4 microclimate model, (b) the Meteonorm weather generator and (c) the dynamic BEPS tool EnergyPlus. The obtained simulation results indicate a decrease in the annual heating energy needs of the examined building units of 8.2–11.5% when the effect of urban warming was accounted for, along with a rise in the annual cooling energy needs of between 13.4 and 28.2%, depending on the case study area. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Climate Mitigation Techniques and Technologies)
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15 pages, 1969 KiB  
Article
Spatial Analysis of GHG Balances and Climate Change Mitigation in Rural Areas: The Case of Emilia–Romagna Region
by Katia Federico, Alberto Bonora, Gianmarco Di Giustino, Matelda Reho and Giulia Lucertini
Atmosphere 2022, 13(12), 2060; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13122060 - 08 Dec 2022
Viewed by 1592
Abstract
This paper aims to analyse the issue of mitigation and the balance of greenhouse gases in the rural contexts of the Emilia–Romagna region (Italy) due to climate change. The approach is based on the experimentation of a methodology, populated by available spatial databases [...] Read more.
This paper aims to analyse the issue of mitigation and the balance of greenhouse gases in the rural contexts of the Emilia–Romagna region (Italy) due to climate change. The approach is based on the experimentation of a methodology, populated by available spatial databases and refined with a series of technical meetings, where it was possible to weigh availability and alternative choices within the identified assessment model. The objective of the research is to create a regional GHG balance map, in order to classify the territory for this specific dynamic. The aim of this approach is supporting policy decisions related to the Common Agricultural Policy at a regional level. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Climate Mitigation Techniques and Technologies)
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24 pages, 4611 KiB  
Article
Definition of Urban Built Environment Climate Adaptive Design Actions Aided by Environmental Data-Driven Design Processes
by Eduardo Bassolino
Atmosphere 2022, 13(11), 1835; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13111835 - 04 Nov 2022
Viewed by 1312
Abstract
Environmental and technological design for climate adaptation in the urban built environment can no longer be separated from the generation, collection, or use of data (big data). ICT tools (Information and Communication Technologies), for the modelling and simulation of the built urban environment [...] Read more.
Environmental and technological design for climate adaptation in the urban built environment can no longer be separated from the generation, collection, or use of data (big data). ICT tools (Information and Communication Technologies), for the modelling and simulation of the built urban environment are identified as measuring devices and provide knowledge on the impacts of climate change in design practice based on an environmentally data-driven approach. This study aims to define a framework for the evaluation of environmental health and comfort parameters applicable to simulation tools, with a specific focus on thermal and environmental exchanges between indoor and outdoor spaces, to define those factors that affect the perception of user’s well-being in thermal stress conditions (e.g., heatwaves), both indoor and outdoor. Through the definition of two study cases in the city of Naples, Italy, special attention was paid to investigating the interaction between outdoor and indoor performance when urban temperatures rise. A comparison between a daily survey for occupants and simulations was conducted to confirm the validity of the data obtainable from the perceived thermal sensations. The obtained results show that the designed framework can reliably simulate real outdoor and indoor conditions according to comfort indices such as the predicted mean vote and adaptive comfort model. The methodological framework developed can guarantee the interoperability of data to simulate indoor and outdoor environments responding to real conditions and determine a favourable condition for the development of urban redevelopment interventions through the application of climate adaptive design strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Climate Mitigation Techniques and Technologies)
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