Counteracting Urban Heat Island Effects in a Global Climate Change Scenario

ISBN-13: 9783319104249 / Angielski / Twarda / 2016 / 400 str.

Francesco Musco

Opis

Urban heat islands are a new type of microclimatic phenomenon that causes a significant increase in the temperature of cities compared to surrounding areas. The phenomenon has been enforced by the current trend towards climate change. Although experts consider urban heat islands an urgent European Union public health concern, there are too few policies that address it. The EU carried out a project to learn more about this phenomenon through pilot initiatives. The pilots included feasibility studies and strategies for appropriately altering planning rules and governance to tackle the problem of urban heat islands. The pilots were carried out in eight metropolitan areas: Bologna/Modena, Budapest, Ljubljana, Lodz, Prague, Stuttgart, Venice/Padova, and Vienna. The feasibility studies carried out in these pilot areas focused on the specific morphology of EU urban areas, which are often characterised by the presence of historical old towns.

Spis treści

Part I The Urban Heat Island – Evidence, Measures and Tools.- Forecasting Models for Urban Warming in Climate Change.- Assessment Indication and Gold Standard.- Methodologies for UHI Analysis.- Decision Support Systems for Urban Planning.- Part II Pilot Actions in European Cities.- Counteracting Urban Heat Islands: Solutions for European Cities.         

O autorze

Francesco Musco, Francesco Musco (1973), architect and urban planner, PhD in Analysis and Governance of Sustainable Development (Ca’ Foscari, Venice), Associate professor in Urban and Regional Planning at the Department of Design and Planning in Complex Environment, University Iuav of Venice. Currently teaches “Environmental Planning”, “Territorial Design for Climate Change” and “Urban Design”. Dean of the EU Erasmus Mundus Master Course on MSP Maritime Spatial Planning (2013-2019). Member of the academic board of the European Master in Planning and policies for the City, Environment and Landscape (www.iuav.it/cap) and of PhD program in “Planning and public policies for the territory”. Supporter of a multidisciplinary approach to city and spatial planning, during the last years he finalized his research activity to the relationship between planning and sustainability, with particular attention to the implementation of bottom-up public policies to define sustainable development in local contexts. He is responsible of international agreements of scientific collaboration with Drexel University (Philadelphia, US), John Hopkins University (Baltimore, US), University of Reading (UK), University of Seville (ES), Future University (Khartum, Sudan). Scientific coordinator of several projects granted by competitive bids, among these:

• ·         City Action Plans in Climate Adaptation: a Global Comparative Analysis (2011) (Santander Foundation, Madrid)
  
• ·         Naterg - Developing with Nature (EU South East Europe Program) (2009-2011)
  
• ·         UHI Development and application of mitigation and adaptation strategies and measures for counteracting the global Urban Heat Islands phenomenon in climate change scenario” (EU Central Europe Program) (2011- 2014);
  
• ·         Sustainable development and new asset of territorial planning in the wetland area Humedal de Mantequilla” (2012-2015), (UNDP and Veneto Region);
  
• ·         ADRIPLAN (2013-2015) Adriatic Ionian Maritime Spatial Planning (EU DG Mare)
  
• ·         URBAN_Wins (2015-2018) H2020 Waste 2015 6-b (EU Horizon 2020)
  

Member of AESOP Association of European School of Planning.

 

prof. Francesco Musco

Iuav University of Venice

S. Croce 1957

30135 Venice (Italy)

francesco.musco@iuav.it

Blurb

Urban Heat Islands (UHIs) are a microclimatic phenomenon which manifests as a significant increase in the temperature of cities compared to their surrounding areas. Recently the phenomenon has been enforced by the tendency to climate change and in particular by extreme climate events. This book presents and analyzes the results of a project to develop and apply mitigation and adaptation strategies and measures for counteracting the global urban heat islands phenomenon, supported by the EU’s Central Europe Regional Development Fund.

Pilot studies were carried out in eight metropolitan areas: Bologna/Modena, Budapest, Ljubljana, Lodz, Prague, Stuttgart, Venice/Padua, and Vienna. The project involved feasibility studies and strategies for appropriately altering planning rules and governance to tackle the problem of UHIs, and focused on the specific morphology of EU urban areas, which are often characterized by the presence of historical old towns.

The first part of the book is devoted to evidence, measures and tools, including tools to facilitate UHI analysis and decision support systems. The second part explores measures for counteracting urban heat islands, including specific analysis of the case studies and offering solutions for European cities. The volume includes supplemental materials such as references, glossaries and keyword lists.

The UHI management plans developed here can be integrated into national and regional sustainable development approaches for urban and land planning. They can also contribute to the application of innovative urban planning techniques that foster a new “climate proof” planning approach in European cities.

UHI project has been implemented through the CENTRAL EUROPE Programme co-financed by the ERDF