Research

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15 pages, 1133 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of a New Index for the Thermal Performance of Horizontal Opaque Building Components in Summer

by Hashem Akbari, Chiara Lodi, Alberto Muscio and Paolo Tartarini

Atmosphere 2021, 12(7), 862; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12070862 - 02 Jul 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1610

The summer behavior of an opaque building component subjected to the solar cycle depends on the combination of its thermal insulation, inertia, and solar reflectance. To rate the component dynamic behavior while an air conditioning system ensures a steady indoor temperature, a ‘solar [...] Read more.

The summer behavior of an opaque building component subjected to the solar cycle depends on the combination of its thermal insulation, inertia, and solar reflectance. To rate the component dynamic behavior while an air conditioning system ensures a steady indoor temperature, a ‘solar transmittance index’ (STI) has been proposed. This is a component-based index calculated from a ‘solar transmittance factor’ (STF). STI takes into account the radiative properties at the outer surface and the thermophysical properties and layer structure of the materials beneath. It correlates the peak heat flux and temperature at the inner surface, relevant to cooling energy and thermal comfort, to the peak solar irradiance. Similar to the well-known ‘solar reflectance index’, STI is determined comparing the STF with two reference values, corresponding to a performance relatively low and very high, respectively. Thanks to its simplicity, the approach may allow defining easy to apply requirements to prevent building overheating, improve indoor comfort, reduce cooling energy demand, and mitigate some fallouts of the urban heat island effect. In this work, focused on roofs above occupied attics, peak heat flux and ceiling temperature are calculated by numerical simulation and compared with STF values for a wide range of roof types. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Design Guidelines for Climate Change)

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21 pages, 7864 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Urban Heat Island and Global Warming Countermeasures on Heat Release and Carbon Dioxide Emissions from a Detached House

by Daisuke Narumi, Ronnen Levinson and Yoshiyuki Shimoda

Atmosphere 2021, 12(5), 572; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12050572 - 28 Apr 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2987

Abstract

Urban air temperature rises induced by the urban heat island (UHIE) effect or by global warming (GW) can be beneficial in winter but detrimental in summer. The SCIENCE-Outdoor model was used to simulate changes to sensible heat release and CO₂ emissions from [...] Read more.

Urban air temperature rises induced by the urban heat island (UHIE) effect or by global warming (GW) can be beneficial in winter but detrimental in summer. The SCIENCE-Outdoor model was used to simulate changes to sensible heat release and CO₂ emissions from buildings yielded by four UHIE countermeasures and five GW countermeasures. This model can evaluate the thermal condition of building envelope surfaces, both inside and outside. The results showed that water-consuming UHIE countermeasures such as evaporative space cooling and roof water showering provided positive effects (decreasing sensible heat release and CO₂ emissions related to space conditioning) in summer. Additionally, they had no negative (unwanted cooling) effects in winter since they can be turned off in the heating season. Roof greening can provide the greatest space- conditioning CO₂ emissions reductions among four UHIE countermeasures, and it reduces the amount of heat release slightly in the heating season. Since the effect on reducing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions by UHIE countermeasures is not very significant, it is desirable to introduce GW countermeasures in order to reduce CO₂ emissions. The significance of this study is that it constructed the new simulation model SCIENCE-Outdoor and applied it to show the influence of countermeasures upon both heat release and CO₂ emissions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Design Guidelines for Climate Change)

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12 pages, 6279 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Temperature of Paved Streets in Urban Mockups and Its Implication of Reflective Cool Pavements

by Yi Zhang, Peiyuan Wei, Lei Wang and Yinghong Qin

Atmosphere 2021, 12(5), 560; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12050560 - 26 Apr 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1912

Abstract

In summer, urban heat islands increase building cooling demands, aggravate air pollution, and cause heat-related illnesses. As a mitigation strategy, reflective cool pavements have been deemed an effective measure to decrease the temperature in urban areas. However, the reflection of paved streets in [...] Read more.

In summer, urban heat islands increase building cooling demands, aggravate air pollution, and cause heat-related illnesses. As a mitigation strategy, reflective cool pavements have been deemed an effective measure to decrease the temperature in urban areas. However, the reflection of paved streets in an urban area will be different from that in an open area. It remains unknown which fraction of paved streets needs to be cooled upmost, and if increasing the albedo of paved streets can effectively reduce their temperature. This study measured the skin temperature of two urban mockups, of which one contained white streets and the other, gray streets. The streets were orientated at different strikes. It was found that in summer the East-West street was hotter than both the cross street and the South-North street. At nighttime, the heat released from building blocks kept the paved street about 0.2 °C hotter than paved areas in open spaces. It was also found that street orientation controlled the skin temperature of an urban street while the sky view factor (or building height and street width) acted in a secondary role only. Increasing the albedo of the paved street in an urban canyon effectively reduced the skin temperature of the street. Reflective pavements should be built preferentially on East-West streets and the cross streets. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Design Guidelines for Climate Change)

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21 pages, 32245 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Urban Resilience of Shenzhen City under Climate Change

by Weiwei Shao, Xin Su, Jie Lu, Jiahong Liu, Zhiyong Yang, Chao Mei, Chuang Liu and Jiahui Lu

Atmosphere 2021, 12(5), 537; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12050537 - 22 Apr 2021

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 5861

Abstract

The Chinese government attaches great importance to climate change adaptation and has issued relevant strategies and policies. Overall, China’s action to adapt to climate change remains in its infancy, and relevant research needs to be further deepened. In this paper, we study the [...] Read more.

The Chinese government attaches great importance to climate change adaptation and has issued relevant strategies and policies. Overall, China’s action to adapt to climate change remains in its infancy, and relevant research needs to be further deepened. In this paper, we study the future adaptive countermeasures of Shenzhen city in the Pearl River Delta in terms of climate change, especially urban flood risk resilience. Based on the background investigation of urban flood risk in Shenzhen, this paper calculates the annual precipitation frequency of Shenzhen from 1953 to 2020, and uses the extreme precipitation index as a quantitative indicator to analyze the changes in historical precipitation and the impact of major flood disasters in Shenzhen city in previous decades. Based on the six kinds of model data of the scenario Model Inter-comparison Project (MIP) in the sixth phase of the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project (CMIP6), uses the Taylor diagram and MR comprehensive evaluation method to evaluate the ability of different climate models to simulate extreme precipitation in Shenzhen, and the selected models are aggregated and averaged to predict the climate change trend of Shenzhen from 2020 to 2100. The prediction results show that Shenzhen will face more severe threats from rainstorms and floods in the future. Therefore, this paper proposes a resilience strategy for the city to cope with the threat of flood in the future, including constructing a smart water management system and promoting the development of a sponge city. Moreover, to a certain extent, it is necessary to realize risk transfer by promoting a flood insurance system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Design Guidelines for Climate Change)

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23 pages, 10478 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Densification on Urban Microclimate—A Case Study for the City of Vienna

by Wolfgang Loibl, Milena Vuckovic, Ghazal Etminan, Matthias Ratheiser, Simon Tschannett and Doris Österreicher

Atmosphere 2021, 12(4), 511; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12040511 - 17 Apr 2021

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 5193

Abstract

Climate adaptation, mitigation, and protecting strategies are becoming even more important as climate change is intensifying. The impacts of climate change are especially tangible in dense urban areas due to the inherent characteristics of urban structure and materiality. To assess impacts of densification [...] Read more.

Climate adaptation, mitigation, and protecting strategies are becoming even more important as climate change is intensifying. The impacts of climate change are especially tangible in dense urban areas due to the inherent characteristics of urban structure and materiality. To assess impacts of densification on urban climate and potential adaptation strategies a densely populated Viennese district was modeled as a typical sample area for the city of Vienna. The case study analyzed the large-scale densification potential and its potential effects on microclimate, air flow, comfort, and energy demand by developing 3D models of the area showing the base case and densification scenarios. Three methods were deployed to assess the impact of urban densification: Micro-climate analysis (1) explored urban heat island phenomena, wind pattern analysis (2) investigated ventilation and wind comfort at street level, and energy and indoor climate comfort analysis (3) compared construction types and greening scenarios and analyzed their impact on the energy demand and indoor temperatures. Densification has negative impacts on urban microclimates because of reducing wind speeds and thus weakening ventilation of street canyons, as well as accelerating heat island effects and associated impact on the buildings. However, densification also has daytime cooling effects because of larger shaded areas. On buildings, densification may have negative effects especially in the new upper, sun-exposed floors. Construction material has less impact than glazing area and rooftop greening. Regarding adaptation to climate change, the impacts of street greening, green facades, and green roofs were simulated: The 24-h average mean radiant temperature (MRT) at street level can be reduced by up to 15 K during daytime. At night there is only a slight reduction by a few tenths of 1 K MRT. Green facades have a similar effect on MRT reduction, while green roofs show only a slight reduction by a few tenths of 1 K MRT on street level. The results show that if appropriate measures were applied, negative effects of densification could be reduced, and positive effects could be achieved. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Design Guidelines for Climate Change)

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13 pages, 3224 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Urbanization on Sunshine Duration from 1987 to 2016 in Hangzhou City, China

by Kai Jin, Peng Qin, Chunxia Liu, Quanli Zong and Shaoxia Wang

Atmosphere 2021, 12(2), 211; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12020211 - 04 Feb 2021

Viewed by 1704

Abstract

Worldwide solar dimming from the 1960s to the 1980s has been widely recognized, but the occurrence of solar brightening since the late 1980s is still under debate—particularly in China. This study aims to properly examine the biases of urbanization in the observed sunshine [...] Read more.

Worldwide solar dimming from the 1960s to the 1980s has been widely recognized, but the occurrence of solar brightening since the late 1980s is still under debate—particularly in China. This study aims to properly examine the biases of urbanization in the observed sunshine duration series from 1987 to 2016 and explore the related driving factors based on five meteorological stations around Hangzhou City, China. The results inferred a weak and insignificant decreasing trend in annual mean sunshine duration (−0.09 h/d decade⁻¹) from 1987 to 2016 in the Hangzhou region, indicating a solar dimming tendency. However, large differences in sunshine duration changes between rural, suburban, and urban stations were observed on the annual, seasonal, and monthly scales, which can be attributed to the varied urbanization effects. Using rural stations as a baseline, we found evident urbanization effects on the annual mean sunshine duration series at urban and suburban stations—particularly in the period of 2002–2016. The effects of urbanization on the annual mean sunshine duration trends during 1987−2016 were estimated to be −0.16 and −0.35 h/d decade⁻¹ at suburban and urban stations, respectively. For urban stations, the strongest urbanization effect was observed in summer (−0.46 h/d decade⁻¹) on the seasonal scale and in June (−0.63 h/d decade⁻¹) on the monthly scale. The notable negative impact of urbanization on local solar radiation changes was closely related to the changes in anthropogenic pollutions, which largely reduced the estimations of solar radiation trends in the Hangzhou region. This result highlights the necessity to carefully consider urbanization impacts when analyzing the trend in regional solar radiation and designing cities for sustainable development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Design Guidelines for Climate Change)

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17 pages, 2448 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experimental Determination of Pedestrian Thermal Comfort on Water-Retaining Pavement for UHI Adaptation Strategy

by Yasuhiro Shimazaki, Masashige Aoki, Jumpei Nitta, Hodaka Okajima and Atsumasa Yoshida

Atmosphere 2021, 12(2), 127; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12020127 - 20 Jan 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2042

Abstract

Artificial impervious surfaces are one of the most significant factors contributing to urban heat islands (UHIs). Adapting to UHIs is a challenge in achieving thermal comfort. We conducted a quantitative and subjective evaluation of a closely paved novel water-retaining pavement (WR) and a [...] Read more.

Artificial impervious surfaces are one of the most significant factors contributing to urban heat islands (UHIs). Adapting to UHIs is a challenge in achieving thermal comfort. We conducted a quantitative and subjective evaluation of a closely paved novel water-retaining pavement (WR) and a conventional dense-asphalt pavement (AS). We investigated the thermal states of humans based on the human energy balance known as “human thermal load” as an indicator for the assessment, and the original human thermal load method was improved for assessing nonuniform environments such as pavements. We looked for individual thermal perceptions simultaneously. The experiment was conducted in typical summer weather. The surface temperature of the WR was found to be significantly lower, by 9.5 °C, while the air temperature and humidity above both pavements were not significantly different. Thus, air conditions did not directly affect the sensible and latent heat loss. The reflected solar radiation was significantly larger, and the infrared radiation was significantly smaller on the WR than on the AS due to the lower surface temperature from the water evaporation and higher reflectance. Further, the human thermal load at a pedestrian level of 1.5 m was found to be significantly different: 237 W/m² for AS and 215 W/m² for WR. In a subjective evaluation, the perceptions of WR tend to be distributed in smaller human thermal load, thereby resulting in a cooler and comfortable sensation. Therefore, we demonstrated that when compared to AS, WR significantly improves thermal comfort. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Design Guidelines for Climate Change)

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15 pages, 6428 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mobile Observation of Air Temperature and Humidity Distributions under Summer Sea Breezes in the Central Area of Osaka City

by Atsumasa Yoshida, Ryusuke Yasuda and Shinichi Kinoshita

Atmosphere 2020, 11(11), 1234; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11111234 - 16 Nov 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2110

Abstract

Thermal environment of urban areas in the summertime has become harmful to human health due to global warming and the urban heat island (UHI) effect. Mobile observations enable us to obtain the distribution of air temperature at microscale, such as urban blocks, which [...] Read more.

Thermal environment of urban areas in the summertime has become harmful to human health due to global warming and the urban heat island (UHI) effect. Mobile observations enable us to obtain the distribution of air temperature at microscale, such as urban blocks, which cannot be captured by the coarse network of meteorological sites. A series of mobile measurements was executed in the central area of Osaka City in Japan, around the Nakanoshima district which lies between two rivers, to investigate the air temperature and humidity distributions in a built-up area under sea breeze conditions. Upper wind and surface temperature of the rivers were also observed using pilot balloons and infrared thermography camera, respectively. The mean air temperature in Nakanoshima was generally lower than that of the surrounding area. Urban geometries such as building density and building height seem to affect the mean air temperature by changing the ventilation efficiency. Humidity was inversely correlated with air temperature distribution but was higher at the confluence of rivers and green parks. The depth of the sea breeze layer was found to be about 1 km. Sea breezes close to the ground surface penetrated the city along the rivers, sandwiching the Nakanoshima district. During the daytime, the surface temperatures of the rivers were lower than the air temperature observed at the nearest stationary observation point, and the difference reached approximately 2 °C. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Design Guidelines for Climate Change)

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18 pages, 2380 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Indicators Framework for Sustainable Urban Design

by Andrea López Chao, Amparo Casares Gallego, Vicente Lopez-Chao and Alberto Alvarellos

Atmosphere 2020, 11(11), 1143; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11111143 - 22 Oct 2020

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 4130

Abstract

Climate change and sustainability have recently been object of study due to the impact on the planet and on human activity of the first and the benefits that could derive from the efficiency of the second. Particularly, urban environments are locations that represent [...] Read more.

Climate change and sustainability have recently been object of study due to the impact on the planet and on human activity of the first and the benefits that could derive from the efficiency of the second. Particularly, urban environments are locations that represent a high percentage of emissions of gases, waste, resources use and so forth. However, they are places where great changes can be made, in an attempt to accomplish the urgent challenge to adapt to current and projected rates of climate change. Research has shown that a fruitful approach to urban sustainability is to describe indicators that measure the effectiveness of current processes of urban infrastructures, analyze areas in need of improvement and measure the effect of any actions taken. The significant feature of this research relies on its global approach, considering both major worldwide used and less widely-spread frameworks and the analysis of the 32 selected tools and guidelines, including over 2000 indicators. The result is a proposed structure of 14 categories and 48 indicators, easily applicable in urban areas, that tries to fulfill basic aspects to obtain a general diagnosis of the sustainable nature of the urban environment, which can serve as support to detect the strongest and weakest areas in terms of their sustainability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Design Guidelines for Climate Change)

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16 pages, 5399 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Concentrations of Four Major Air Pollutants among Ecological Functional Zones in Shenyang, Northeast China

by Liguang Li, Ziqi Zhao, Hongbo Wang, Yangfeng Wang, Ningwei Liu, Xiaolan Li and Yanjun Ma

Atmosphere 2020, 11(10), 1070; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11101070 - 08 Oct 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2159

Abstract

Air pollution is a critical urban environmental issue in China; however, the relationships between air pollutants and ecological functional zones in urban areas are poorly understood. Therefore, we analyzed the spatiotemporal characteristics of four major air pollutants (particulate matter less than or equal [...] Read more.

Air pollution is a critical urban environmental issue in China; however, the relationships between air pollutants and ecological functional zones in urban areas are poorly understood. Therefore, we analyzed the spatiotemporal characteristics of four major air pollutants (particulate matter less than or equal to 2.5 µm (PM_2.5) and 10 µm (PM₁₀) in diameter, SO₂, and NO₂) concentrations over five ecological functional zones in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, at hourly, seasonal, and annual scales using data collected from 11 monitoring stations over 2 years. We further assessed the relationships between these pollutants and meteorological conditions and land-use types at the local scale. Peaks in PM, SO₂, and NO₂ concentrations occurred at 08:00–09:00 and 23:00 in all five zones. Daytime PM concentrations were highest in the industrial zone, and those of SO₂ and NO₂ were highest in residential areas. All four air pollutants reached their highest concentrations in winter and lowest in summer. The highest mean seasonal PM concentrations were found in the industrial zone, and the highest SO₂ and NO₂ concentrations were found in residential areas. The mean annual PM and SO₂ concentrations decreased in 2017 in all zones, while that of NO₂ increased in all zones excluding the cultural zone. The natural reserve zone had the lowest concentrations of all pollutants at all temporal scales. Pollutant concentrations of PM_2.5, PM₁₀, SO₂, and NO₂ were correlated with visibility, and their correlation coefficients are 0.675, 0.579, 0.475, and 0.477. Land coverage with buildings and natural vegetation negatively and positively influence air pollutant concentrations, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Design Guidelines for Climate Change)

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20 pages, 10205 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Local Climate Zone Classification Scheme Can Also Indicate Local-Scale Urban Ventilation Performance: An Evidence-Based Study

by Ziqi Zhao, Lidu Shen, Liguang Li, Hongbo Wang and Bao-Jie He

Atmosphere 2020, 11(8), 776; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11080776 - 23 Jul 2020

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3000

Abstract

Studies on urban ventilation indicate that urban ventilation performance is highly dependent on urban morphology. Some studies have linked local-scale urban ventilation performance with the local climate zone (LCZ) that is proposed for surface temperature studies. However, there is a lack of evidence-based [...] Read more.

Studies on urban ventilation indicate that urban ventilation performance is highly dependent on urban morphology. Some studies have linked local-scale urban ventilation performance with the local climate zone (LCZ) that is proposed for surface temperature studies. However, there is a lack of evidence-based studies showing LCZ ventilation performance and affirming the reliability of using the LCZ classification scheme to demonstrate local-scale urban ventilation performance. Therefore, this study aims to analyse LCZ ventilation performances in order to understand the suitability of using the LCZ classification scheme to indicate local-scale urban ventilation performance. This study was conducted in Shenyang, China, with wind information at 16 weather stations in 2018. The results indicate that the Shenyang weather station had an annual mean wind speed of 2.07 m/s, while the mean wind speed of the overall 16 stations was much lower, only 1.44 m/s in value. The mean wind speed at Shenyang weather station and the 16 stations varied with seasons, day and night and precipitation conditions. The spring diurnal mean wind was strong with the speeds of 3.56 m/s and 2.21 m/s at Shenyang weather station and the 16 stations, respectively. The wind speed (2.21 m/s at Shenyang weather station) under precipitation conditions was higher than that (1.75 m/s at Shenyang weather station) under no precipitation conditions. Downtown ventilation performance was weaker than the approaching wind background, where the relative mean wind speed in the downtown area was only 0.53, much less than 1.0. The downtown ventilation performance also varied with seasons, day and night and precipitation conditions, where spring diurnal downtown ventilation performance was the weakest and the winter nocturnal downtown ventilation performance was the strongest. Moreover, the annual mean wind speed of the 16 zones decreased from the sparse, open low-rise zones to the compact midrise zones, indicating the suitability of using LCZ classification scheme to indicate local-scale urban ventilation performance. The high spatial correlation coefficients under different seasons, day and night and precipitation conditions, ranging between 0.68 and 0.99, further affirmed that LCZ classification scheme is also suitable to indicate local-scale urban ventilation performance, despite without the consideration of street structure like precinct ventilation zone scheme. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Design Guidelines for Climate Change)

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25 pages, 31875 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on the Accelerated Aging Test Method in the Development of a Self-Cleaning Topcoat for Cool Roofs

by Taizo Aoyama, Takeshi Sonoda and Hideki Takebayashi

Atmosphere 2020, 11(6), 605; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11060605 - 08 Jun 2020

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2955

Abstract

The heat island phenomenon in urban areas has become a problem in the recent years. One measure to overcome this, which has been attracting attention, is painting the cool roof with a paint that has high solar reflectance. However, the solar reflectance has [...] Read more.

The heat island phenomenon in urban areas has become a problem in the recent years. One measure to overcome this, which has been attracting attention, is painting the cool roof with a paint that has high solar reflectance. However, the solar reflectance has been reported to decrease over time owing to staining from the paint. Our investigations reveal that a self-cleaning paint, based on an acrylic silicone polymer, is effective in maintaining a high solar reflectance and preventing dirt from adhering. These evaluations have been conducted on the cool roof of an actual building by conducting a pollution test under outdoor exposure conditions. In this study, we investigated an accelerated aging test and reported the results. ASTM D7897-15 (ASTM method) is an accelerated pollution test method for cool roofs, which has been established in the United States. In Japan, a similar accelerated pollution test method exists for antifouling civil engineering materials introduced by the Public Works Research Institute in Japan (PWRI method). The ASTM method and PWRI method were compared by conducting a stain acceleration test using a self-cleaning- and conventional-type cool-roof coating. The substitutability of the exposure test, correlation with the exposure test, performance evaluation of the paint, and the effect of the difference in the pretreatment conditions were verified. The results of these tests were reported. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Design Guidelines for Climate Change)

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Review

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19 pages, 646 KiB

Open AccessReview

Untangling Urban Sprawl and Climate Change: A Review of the Literature on Physical Planning and Transportation Drivers

by Qiu Feng and Pierre Gauthier

Atmosphere 2021, 12(5), 547; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12050547 - 24 Apr 2021

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5260

Abstract

Significant efforts have been dedicated to studying the linkages between urban form, fossil energy consumption, and climate change. The theme of urban sprawl helped to federate a significant portion of such efforts. Yet, the research appears fragmented, at stems from different disciplines and [...] Read more.

Significant efforts have been dedicated to studying the linkages between urban form, fossil energy consumption, and climate change. The theme of urban sprawl helped to federate a significant portion of such efforts. Yet, the research appears fragmented, at stems from different disciplines and mobilizes different methods to probe different aspects of the issue. This paper seeks to better understand the status of knowledge concerning the linkages between sprawl and climate change through a critical review of the literature published between 1979 and 2018. The exercise entailed revisiting how sprawl has been defined, characterized and measured, and how such parameters have informed the research themes and the approaches mobilized to study its impacts on climate change. For, sprawled environments contribute the climate change directly and indirectly, due to the individual or combined effects of its land use, land cover, urban form, and transportation characteristics. The results indicate that sprawl’s impacts have been mainly investigated in three principal streams of research and based on a limited number of factors or combinations of factors. Though a strong consensus emerges on the negative environmental costs of sprawl, including toward climate change, there remain ambiguities when trying to untangle and weigh specific causes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Design Guidelines for Climate Change)

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