Abstract
Warming trends in the cities and the Urban Heat Island Effect represent negative environmental
impacts of urbanization, which, combined with increased air and noise pollution, can contribute to the deterioration of physical and mental health of its inhabitants. In the city of Barcelona, urban planners proposed the Superblocks project as a mean to decrease car usage, improve urban microclimate conditions and the overall comfort of adjacent public space s. By the conversion of side streets into public spaces that prioritize pedestrian use, the traffic of motor vehicles inside the Superblocks is reduced to a minimum. The overall impact of this ground-breaking urban renewal in the metropolitan scale is yet to be seen but the urban microclimatic effects could be already evaluated using state -of-the-art computational simulation. The tool Urban Weather Generator
was also used to evaluate the influence of the implementation of the Superblocks in the metropolitan microclimate. These two to ols for the study of urban climate were used to assess
the impact of Superblocks in the urban climate, and the applicability of the two employed
computational methods were compared.
impacts of urbanization, which, combined with increased air and noise pollution, can contribute to the deterioration of physical and mental health of its inhabitants. In the city of Barcelona, urban planners proposed the Superblocks project as a mean to decrease car usage, improve urban microclimate conditions and the overall comfort of adjacent public space s. By the conversion of side streets into public spaces that prioritize pedestrian use, the traffic of motor vehicles inside the Superblocks is reduced to a minimum. The overall impact of this ground-breaking urban renewal in the metropolitan scale is yet to be seen but the urban microclimatic effects could be already evaluated using state -of-the-art computational simulation. The tool Urban Weather Generator
was also used to evaluate the influence of the implementation of the Superblocks in the metropolitan microclimate. These two to ols for the study of urban climate were used to assess
the impact of Superblocks in the urban climate, and the applicability of the two employed
computational methods were compared.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Will Cities survive? The future of sustainable buildings and urbanism in the age of emergency. : PLEA 2022 - BOOK OF PROCEEDINGS VOL 1 ONLINE SESSIONS |
| Volume | 1 |
| Publisher | Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile |
| Publication date | 2023 |
| Pages | 656-661 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 978-956-14-3068-6 |
| Publication status | Published - 2023 |
| Event | 36th PLEA Conference 2022 - Sustainable Architecture and Urban Design - Santiago de Chile, Chile Duration: 23 Nov 2022 → 25 Nov 2022 https://plea2022.org/ |
Conference
| Conference | 36th PLEA Conference 2022 - Sustainable Architecture and Urban Design |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Chile |
| City | Santiago de Chile |
| Period | 23/11/2022 → 25/11/2022 |
| Internet address |
Keywords
- Microclimate
- Urban Climate
- Built environment
- Urban Heat Island Effect