- Urban Planning and Design for Local Climate Mitigation: A methodology based on remote sensing and GIS    1372 kb by    Vettorato, Daniele | daniele.vettorato@ing.unitn.it    Short Outline The paper proposes a methodology to approach the problem of increasing temperature in urban areas, due to the climate change and the “Urban Heat Island Effect”, from a spatial planning/urban design point of view. Abstract The paper proposes a methodology to approach the problem of increasing temperature in urban areas, due to the climate change and the “Urban Heat Island Effect”, from a spatial planning/urban design point of view. The overheating of the urban areas increases the need of energy for cooling the buildings and reduces the overall thermal comfort and quality of life of the urban settlements (Gartland, 2008; Oke,T. R.,1987). The phenomenon is increasing especially in the megacities of the developing world because of the rapid urbanization process and the consequent rapid growth of some cities.The problem of climate mitigation it is very relevant for tropical cities that are doubly disadvantaged due to the already oppressive heat made worse by the deteriorating urban climate (Rohinton, 2009). Despite the global importance of the phenomenon and its implications in terms of sustainability and quality of life of the cities, very few operational instruments are available to design (CABE, 2002) local climate mitigation strategies and plans at urban scale. The proposed methodology starts from an analytical approach that integrates (using a GIS) urban morphology, solar irradiation, surface temperature and land cover (derived from innovative remote sensing techniques, i.e. LiDAR) to identify those critical zones that are affected by the overheating effect. Later on the urban morphology and vegetation design are used as key strategies to promote a climate sensitive and sustainable urban design for the critical zones. In particular were tested the possibilities: - to optimize the morphology to enhance the shading of buildings and public spaces during thermally critical times of the day (by manipulating urban geometry). - to use the urban vegetation for sheltering and shading buildings and public spaces; - to consider in the design the role of vegetation also for CO2 absorption, ecosystem connections and water retention. A set of new instruments and indicators were tested and included in a methodology for “urban planning and design for local climate mitigation”. The methodology was verified in a case study located in Italy – Trentino, due to the availability of data for this area, and it is replicable in others contexts. Keywords climate mitigation, urban heat island, urban planning, green design, remote sensing, GIS, LiDAR Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2010: Sustainable City - Developing World   Click to open the full paper as pdf document   Click to send an email to the author(s) of this paper