Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Different Urban Fabrics to Face Increasingly Hot Summer Days Due to Climate Change

Paola Lassandro (), Sara Antonella Zaccaro and Silvia Di Turi
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Paola Lassandro: ITC-CNR, Construction Technologies Institute, Italian National Research Council, Branch of Bari, Via Paolo Lembo 38b, 70124 Bari, Italy
Sara Antonella Zaccaro: ITC-CNR, Construction Technologies Institute, Italian National Research Council, Branch of Bari, Via Paolo Lembo 38b, 70124 Bari, Italy
Silvia Di Turi: DUEE-ENEA, Department Unit of Energy Efficiency, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Rome, Italy

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 5, 1-30

Abstract: As global warming and heat waves are becoming more frequent and severe, cities, with their different morphological districts, must be at the forefront of environmental challenges. Notably, many Mediterranean towns maintain the original medieval urban fabric and the regular one. The research focuses on the development of a methodology with the application of high-resolution 3D modelling software ENVI-met V5.1 to analyze the microclimatic effects of mitigation and adaptation strategies derived from the study of medieval and regular urban fabric. The aim is to address contemporary challenges such as heat waves and urban heat island (UHI) effects in modern cities. By studying outdoor energy behavior in a southern Italian city (Bari), the research proposes scenarios for urban settlements in the face of climate change. This approach provides recommendations for creating more climate-resilient urban environments both in the historic and modern city. The use of trees with large crowns and tall shrubs and the inclusion of fountain jets are strategies to achieve sky view factor and air temperatures in the modern city similar to those in the historical fabric. Increasing albedo values and the use of green roofs prove to be further strategies for improving outdoor climatic conditions.

Keywords: climate change mitigation; urban adaptation; urban heat island; historical and regular fabric; green roofs; water jets; cool materials; ENVI-met (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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