This thesis investigates the impact of Green Infrastructure (GI) and Local Climate Zones (LCZs) on air temperature at 2 meters above the ground (T2m) in Norrköping and Linköping, Sweden, with a focus on urban planning and climate resilience strategies. Two concepts of LCZ and the newly developed “3-30-300” GI rule are applied. Two concepts are evaluated under summer 2018 strong heatwave conditions and project future scenarios with a 3°C rise in global temperatures during extreme heatwaves. The results show an increase in mean temperature of about 2.9 °C and an extended duration of heatwaves in 17 days from the summer of 2018 to the possible future. Findings indicate that urban areas adhering to 30% tree canopy coverage and within 300 meters or less of a park show a 0.7°C reduction in median T2m during heatwaves. LCZs with more natural environments and less paved surfaces, such as open low-rise, sparsely built, and open midrise, exhibit lower air temperatures, while densely built areas (compact high-rise) show higher temperatures at night, and wide-open paved areas (large low-rise, heavy industry) show higher temperatures during days. The study underscores the necessity of increasing GI coverage and parks in both cities, highlighting the challenges of equitable GI distribution. Recommendations for future research include selecting cooling-effective indigenous tree species and expanding the scope to additional climate variables. This work provides crucial insights for urban areas in Nordic countries and similar climates, contributing to sustainable urban planning and enhanced climate resilience.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Architecture / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina’s diverse impacts on the Greater New Orleans area included damaged and destroyed trees, and other despoiled vegetation, which also increased the exposure of artificial and bare surfaces, known factors that contribute to the climatic phenomenon known as the urban heat island (UHI). This is an investigation of UHI in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which entails the analysis of pre and post-hurricane Katrina thermal imagery of the study area, including changes to surface heat patterns and vegetative cover. Imagery from Landsat TM was used to show changes to the pattern and intensity of the UHI effect, caused by an extreme weather event. Using remote sensing visualization methods, field data, and local knowledge, the author found there was a measurable change in the pattern and intensity of the New Orleans UHI effect, as well as concomitant changes to vegetative land cover. This finding may be relevant for urban planners and citizens, especially in the context of recovery from a large-scale disaster of a coastal city, regarding future weather events, and other natural and human impacts.

O objeto deste trabalho é o desempenho térmico da produção recente de edifícios residenciais multifamiliares em São Paulo, lançados entre 2005 e 2014, considerando o contexto urbano e climático em transição, visando às condições de conforto térmico. O objetivo é quantificar, por meio de estudos paramétricos com simulações computacionais termodinâmicas, o efeito de elementos, tanto intrínsecos quanto externos, aos edifícios sobre as condições de conforto térmico no clima atual e, em um segundo momento, no futuro (cerca de 50 anos à frente) identificando as melhores estratégias de projeto e operação para o conforto térmico. A hipótese é de que algumas práticas de projeto e operação correntes nos edifícios residenciais multifamiliares, que incluem o uso da varanda como ambiente interno da unidade e a vedação envidraçada de maiores proporções, tudo isso conjugado com as pequenas dimensões das unidades e os decorrentes prejuízos à ventilação natural, fazem com que esse estoque edificado, operando em modo naturalmente ventilado, apresente um desempenho térmico insatisfatório para o conforto térmico, e que isso vai ocorrer em uma parcela considerável do tempo de uso. No entanto, a varanda, valorizada nos edifícios residenciais multifamiliares verticais recentes, quando usada de fato como elemento de transição, consegue ser o vetor de melhoria do conforto térmico interno através da promoção de diferentes possibilidades de operação, incluindo sombreamento e ventilação. O estudo parte de uma leitura de grandes temas relacionados, passa por estudos de casos reais de apartamentos residenciais e estudos de clima urbano e realiza simulações computacionais termodinâmicas de desempenho térmico de uma unidade residencial considerada representativa da produção recente do mercado imobiliário de edifícios verticais multifamiliares. O método é indutivo, por meio de levantamentos de dados e elaboração de um modelo representativo (Ap Base) para as simulações computacionais, e dedutivo, por meio de comparações entre os diversos resultados obtidos pelas simulações computacionais nas diferentes configurações propostas. Dos estudos de simulação computacional depreende-se que, para os padrões construtivos de unidades residenciais em edifícios verticais praticados pelo mercado, alcançar o conforto ambiental em modo de operação naturalmente ventilado será um desafio de maiores dimensões nos cenários de aquecimento global e urbano vislumbrados. A diminuição de massa térmica aliada ao aumento das superfícies envidraçadas não sombreadas e reduzidas possibilidades de ventilação nos ambientes são os principais fatores que contribuem para o aquecimento em edificações. A presença da varanda, por sua vez, é positiva quando ela assume diversas possibilidades de configuração, atuando e sendo ocupada como um ambiente de transição de fato e não como um dos cômodos internos à residência; deste modo ela pode ser vetor das melhores práticas de operação na busca do conforto térmico. Portanto, os resultados comprovam a hipótese inicial, destacando-se que elementos que possibilitem a operação das aberturas, em especial aquelas ligadas à varanda, a saber, envidraçamento externo, porta entre varanda e estar e elemento sombreador externo, precisam estar disponíveis para serem operados pelo usuário, que deve estar apto a perceber as melhores possibilidades de operação e realizá-las. / The objective of this work is the thermal performance of the recent multifamily residential building production in São Paulo, launched between 2005 and 2014, considering the urban and the transition climate contexts aiming at the thermal comfort conditions. The objective is to quantify, through parametric studies using thermodynamic computational simulations, the effect of both intrinsic and external elements on the thermal comfort conditions in the current climate and, in a second moment, in the future about 50 years ahead, identifying the best design and operation strategies for the thermal comfort. The hypothesis is that some current design and operation practices in multifamily residential buildings, which include the use of the balcony as an interior environment and the large glass enclosures combined with the apartment\'s small area and the insufficient natural ventilation possibilities, result in poor thermal comfort performance of this free running building stock in a considerable part of its lifespan. However, the balcony, valued in the recent multi-family residential buildings, when in fact used as a transition space, can be the vector of internal thermal comfort improvements by promoting different operation possibilities, including shading and ventilation. This study starts from a broader context, observing real residential apartments\' study cases, going into urban climate studies and performing thermodynamic simulations of a residential apartment considered representative of the recent vertical multifamily building production of the local real estate market. The method is inductive, through data surveys and elaboration of a representative model (Ap Base) for the simulations, and deductive, through comparisons between the several results obtained by the simulations in the different configurations proposed. From the simulation studies, it can be concluded that, for the building standards of residential apartments in vertical buildings practiced by the market, achieving thermal comfort in free running mode will be a major challenge in the envisioned global and urban heating scenarios. The decrease of the thermal mass coupled with the unshaded large glazed surface area and reduced ventilation possibilities are the main factors for the building heating. The balcony, in turn, is positive when it assumes several configuration possibilities, acting and being occupied as a transitional environment in fact and not as an interior room; in this way it can be a vector of the best operating practices in the search for thermal comfort. Therefore, the results confirm the initial hypothesis, emphasizing that elements allowing the opening operation, especially the ones connected to the balcony, namely external glazing, door between balcony and living room and external shade element, must be available to be operated by the user, who must be able to perceive the best possible operation and perform it.

Le phénomène d’ilot de chaleur urbain « ICU » souvent observé dans les villes à forte densité urbaine, provoque des impacts négatifs surtout sur le confort thermique extérieur et sur la consommation énergétique des bâtiments. D’où l’importance d’intégrer des dispositifs d’atténuation de ce phénomène dans la conception des projets et des espaces urbains. Cette thèse vise à étudier les effets des différentes stratégies de limitation d’ICU sur les paramètres microclimatiques sous climat méditerranéen. Le cas étudié est un quartier compact de la ville libanaise Beyrouth qui est classifié comme un territoire artificialisé. Jusqu’à présent, peu de recherches microclimatiques ont été réalisées pour le cas Libanais et il y absence des codes et des mesures d’adaptation luttant contre l’ICU. Des simulations numériques sont réalisées à l’aide d’un outil microclimatique « ENVI-met », permettant d’identifier le potentiel rafraichissant de chaque stratégie proposée. Ces stratégies sont basées sur l’augmentation de l’albédo des revêtements du sol et de l’enveloppe des bâtiments, l’augmentation des espaces verts et des surfaces végétalisées, ainsi que sur la mise en place des sources d’eau comme les fontaines et les brumisateurs. Les charges de climatisation relatives à chaque mesure d’atténuation ont été évaluées à l’aide du couplage des données extraites avec ENVI-met avec le logiciel Hourly Analysis Program. Le travail de cette thèse a présenté la capacité des scenarios proposés à modifier les charges de climatisation sensibles ainsi que celles latentes. Le confort du piéton est aussi étudié en analysant l’indice de confort PET. / The urban heat island "UHI" phenomenon, frequently detected in cities with high urban density, leads to negative impacts especially on outdoor thermal comfort and buildings energy consumption. Accordingly, it is important to integrate mitigation measures into the design of projects and urban spaces. This thesis aims to study the effects of different UHI limitation strategies on microclimatic parameters in Mediterranean climate. The case of study is a com pact district of the Lebanese city Beirut which is classified as an artificial territory. Little microclimatic researches have been done for the Lebanese case and there is a lack of codes and adaptation measures to mitigate the effect of UHI. Numerical simulations are realized using "ENVI-met" software, to identify the cooling potential of each proposed strategy. These strategies are based on increasing the albedo of urban surfaces and buildings facades and roofs, increasing green spaces and vegetation surfaces, as well as the implementation of water sources such as fountains and water sprays. The cooling loads for each mitigation strategy were evaluated by linking ENVI-met results to the “Hourly Analysis Program” software. This thesis presented the capacity of the proposed scenarios to modify the sensible and latent cooling loads. The pedestrian comfort is also studied by analyzing the index of comfort PET.

Le phénomène d'îlot de chaleur urbain engendre de l'inconfort thermique auprès des habitants. Améliorer le microclimat en zone urbaine est donc l'une des préoccupations des aménageurs. La végétalisation des villes s'avère une solution prometteuse, car l'évapotranspiration des plantes etles ombres portées des arbres ont un impact significatif sur le bilan thermique de l'atmosphère alentour. Un défi majeur aujourd'hui est le développement d'un modèle de simulation microclimatique capable de reproduire les conditions climatiques d'une rue, voire d'un quartier urbain végétalisé, dans l'objectif de proposer un outil d'aide à la décision pour l'aménagement des villes durables. L'objectif de cette thèse est d'étudier comment prendre en compte la végétation et plus particulièrement les arbres, dans un modèle microclimatique 30 afin de simuler le microclimat d'un quartier. Deux modèles, LASER/F et RATP sont appliqués à l'échelle d'un arbre et d'un parc urbain pour mener à bien cette étude. / The urban heat island phenomenon causes thermal discomfort to residents. lmproving the microclimate in urban areas is therefore one of the concerns of urban plan ners. The greening of cities (with lawns, trees, green roofs, etc.) is a promising solution, as the transpiration of plants and the shadows of trees have a significant impact on the thermal balance of the surrounding atmosphere. This act must be planned to optimize the benefits of vegetation. A key challenge today is thus the development of a microclimatic simulation model capable of reproducing the climatic conditions of a street, or even a vegetated urban neighborhood, with the aim of proposinga decision support tool for the development of sustainable cities. The aim of this thesis is to study how to consider vegetation and especially trees, in a 30 microclimatic model to simulate the microclimate of a neighborhood. Two models, LASER/F and RATP were applied at the scale of a tree and an urban park to carry out this study.

A Ilha de Calor Urbana no município e Região Metropolitana de São Paulo foi estudada por uma série de autores da Geografia e Meteorologia através da aplicação de metodologias de estudos empíricos na avaliação do fenômeno. A vigente pesquisa apresenta uma nova metodologia na avaliação do campo térmico urbano e o conjunto de variáveis climáticas e antrópicas que o condicionam. Para tal foi realizado o seguinte teste de hipótese: a dinâmica territorial da Ilha de Calor Urbana corresponde às interações entre as condições sinóticas, uso e cobertura do solo e balanço de energia. Além desta, dentre os diversos objetivos específicos, o estudo contou com a avaliação do campo térmico dos parques públicos de lazer. Para tal foram utilizados os métodos descritivo, seguido do comparativo e análise integrada descritiva, aliados a uma simbiose entre aplicações de técnicas de sensoriamento remoto e geoprocessamento. Um total de nove imagens do satélite Landsat-5 sensor TM no período de 2007 a 2011 foram utilizadas na geração de imagens termais, posteriormente estas foram vetorizadas e sobrepostas a padrões oficiais de uso do solo, também foram adotados índice de vegetação, fotografias áreas, cartas e boletins sinóticos e dados de campo referentes à temperatura do ar, umidade relativa, precipitação, direção e velocidade do vento, evaporação e radiação solar global. O modelo SEBAL (Surface Energy Balance Algorithms for Land) foi aplicado a três imagens do mapeador temático Landsat-5 de diferentes datas, através do mesmo foram gerados mapas de albedo da superfície, saldo de radiação à superfície, fluxo de calor sensível e latente. Os resultados demostraram a veracidade da hipótese, a conformação e dinâmica territorial da Ilha de Calor Urbana corresponderam a diferentes condições de tempos sinóticos, os quais determinaram o transporte de umidade do oceano para atmosfera continental e por seguinte transformaram o balanço de energia local. Foram verificados três diferentes padrões territoriais, em todos eles os padrões de uso do solo ligados a comércio e serviços, armazéns e indústrias que apresentaram índice de biomassa vegetal igual zero, obtiveram a melhor correlação espacial com o fenômeno. O cenário chamou atenção para a preservação e expansão do arboreto urbano, parques e unidades de conservação, visto que estes demonstraram ser a fonte para redução da temperatura da superfície urbana. / The Urban heat island in the city and metropolitan region of São Paulo has been studied by several authors in the areas of geography and Meteorology through the application of methodologies of empirical studies on the evaluation of the phenomenon. Our research presents a new methodology in the evaluation of the urban thermal field and the set of climatic and anthropogenic variables that influence it. To this end, the following hypothesis testing was conducted: the territorial dynamics of the urban heat island corresponds to the interactions between synoptic conditions, use and coverage of the soil and energy balance. Additionally, among several other specific objectives, the study was also preoccupied with the evaluation of the thermal field of public parks. For such purpose we applied the descriptive method, followed by the comparative method and descriptive integrated analysis, combined with a symbiosis between applications of remote sensing and GIS techniques. A total of nine satellite images Landsat-5 TM sensor in the period from 2007 to 2011 were used on thermal imaging, these were later vectorized and superimposed on official standards of land use. Other than that, vegetation index, air photographs, letters and synoptic bulletins and field data related to air temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, wind direction and speed, global solar radiation and evaporation were also adopted. The model SEBAL (Surface Energy Balance Algorithms for Land) was applied to three thematic mapper images Landsat-5 from different dates; through these images were generated albedo maps from the surface, the surface radiation balance, sensible and latent heat flux. The results proved the hypothesis true, the conformation and territorial dynamics of the urban heat island corresponded to different conditions of synoptic climates, which determined the humidity transportation from the ocean into continental atmosphere and, consequently, transformed the balance of local energy. Three different territorial patterns were investigated; in all of them the land use patterns linked to trade and services, warehouses and industries that showed the index of plant biomass equal zero obtained the best spatial correlation with the phenomenon. The scenario drew attention to the preservation and expansion of the urban arboretum, parks and protected areas since these proved to be the source for the development of thermal environmental urban quality.

O fenômeno de ilhas de calor urbanas ocorre principalmente nos centros urbanos caracterizados pela grande concentração de edificações, ausência de vegetação e uso de materiais impermeáveis com grande capacidade de armazenar calor. As temperaturas elevadas causam desconforto térmico, problemas de saúde e maior consumo de energia para resfriamento de edificações. O objetivo da pesquisa presente é investigar o impacto da permeabilidade dos revestimentos urbanos horizontais na variação da temperatura do ar e na formação de ilhas de calor urbanas na cidade de São Carlos, SP. Embora São Carlos seja uma cidade de porte médio, o processo da urbanização criou áreas densamente construídas e sem muita vegetação, o que favorece o aquecimento do ar e das superfícies. Para avaliar a variação da temperatura do ar em relação às características urbanas, foram realizadas medições fixas da temperatura e umidade relativa do ar em 37 pontos que representam diferentes tipos de ocupação urbana em quatro estações do ano, durante 15 dias em cada estação. Nos entornos dos pontos de medição foi feito o mapeamento da permeabilidade dos revestimentos horizontais das superfícies. A correlação entre as variáveis climáticas e urbanísticas foi analisada para cada estação separadamente e a seguir fez-se a análise comparativa de todas as estações através da normalização dos dados climáticos obtidos por monitoramento. A partir dos dados normalizados foram elaborados mapas térmicos. Os resultados confirmam o aumento da temperatura e diminuição da umidade em locais onde predominam revestimentos impermeáveis. Desse modo, este estudo fornece subsídios importantes para o planejamento urbano, a fim de criar espaços urbanos termicamente confortáveis na cidade de São Carlos. / The phenomenon of urban heat island occurs principally in urban centers characterized by big concentration of buildings, absence of vegetation and use of impermeable materials with high capacity to store heat. Elevated temperatures cause thermal discomfort, health problems and higher energy consumption for cooling of the buildings. The objective of the present research is to investigate the impact of permeability of horizontal urban coatings on the variation of air temperature and formation of urban heat islands in the city of São Carlos, SP. Although São Carlos is a medium sized city, the process of urbanization created densely built up areas without a lot of vegetation, which benefits the heating of air and surfaces. In order to evaluate the temperature variation in relation to urban characteristics, fixed measurements of air temperature and humidity were be performed in 37 points which represent different types of urban occupation in four season of the year, during 15 days in each season with interval of 30 minutes. In the surroundings of each point of measurement was performed a mapping of permeability of horizontal coatings. The correlation between climatic and urbanistic variables was analyzed for each season separately and following was done a comparative analysis of all the seasons by the use of normalization and extrapolation of climatic data. Based on the normalized data were elaborated temperature maps. The results confirm the increase in temperature and the decrease in humidity in the locations where impermeable coatings dominate. Thus, this study provides important supplies for urban planning, in order to create thermally comfortable urban spaces in the city of São Carlos.

The Earth's climate is changing and cities are facing a warmer future. As the locus of economic activity and concentrated populations on the planet, cities are both a primary driver of greenhouse gas emissions and places where the human health impacts of climate change are directly felt. Cities increase local temperatures through the conversion of natural land covers to urban uses, and exposures to elevated temperatures represent a serious and growing health threat for urban residents. This work is concerned with understanding the interactions of global trends in climate with local influences tied to urban land covers. First, it examines temperatures during an extended period of extreme heat and asks whether changes in land surface temperatures during a heat wave are consistent in space and time across all land cover types. Second, the influences of land covers on temperatures are considered for normal and extreme summer weather to find out which characteristics of the built environment most influence temperatures during periods of extreme heat. Finally, the distribution of health vulnerabilities related to extreme heat in cities are described and examined for spatial patterns. These topics are investigated using meteorology from the summer of 2006 to identify extremely hot days in the cities of Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Phoenix and their surrounding metropolitan regions. Remotely sensed temperature data were examined with physical and social characteristics of the urban environment to answer the questions posed above. The findings confirm that urban land covers consistently exhibit higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas and are much more likely to be among the hottest in the region, during a heat wave specifically. In some cities urban thermal anomalies grew between the beginning and end of a heat wave. The importance of previously recognized built environment thermal influences (impervious cover and tree canopy) were present, and in some cases, emphasized during extreme summer weather. Extreme heat health health vulnerability related to environmental factors coincided spatially with risks related to social status. This finding suggests that populations with fewer resources for coping with extreme heat tend to reside in built environments that increase temperatures, and thus they may be experiencing increased thermal exposures. Physical interventions and policies related to the built environment can help to reduce urban temperatures, especially during periods of extremely hot weather which are predicted to become more frequent with global climate change. In portions of the city where populations with limited adaptive capacity are concentrated, modification of the urban landscape to decrease near surface longwave radiation can reduce the chances of adverse health effects related to extreme heat. The specific programs, policies, and design strategies pursued by cities and regions must be tailored with respect to scale, location, and cultural context. This work concludes with suggestions for such strategies.

University of Macau / Faculty of Science and Technology / Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering