Cool Tree Architecture: A Descriptive Framework for a Tree Architecture Typology to Temper Urban Microclimates

As the elementary unit of the urban forest, trees temper thermal extremes in urban microclimates through shading and evapotranspiration, and by altering the movement of air. Metrics on shade performances of different species, however, are currently limited, which can be remedied by the development of a method to describe the range of species and...

Water as a coolant of cities

Since more than half of the world population already lives in cities, it is important to understand the urban climate and its particularities. One of the typical aspects of urban areas is that cities are generally warmer than their rural surrounding. This phenomenon was first time described 200 years ago in the case of London and is commonly...

Hotterdam: Mapping the social, morphological, and land-use dimensions of the Rotterdam urban heat island

Climate scientists forecast that heat waves will occur more often in the Netherlands in the coming decades. The Hotterdam study accordingly measured urban heat and modelled the surface energy balance in the Dutch city of Rotterdam. It identified in detail the city’s social, morphological, and land-use dimensions using a geographic information...

The Hague 2040+. An Integrated Approach Towards Heat Proof Cities

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges we face during this century; heatwaves, periods of extreme drought, and heavy rainfall get more common. Increasing temperatures have massive impact on cities. High amounts of paved- and built-up surfaces store heat during the day, making cities warmer than their rural environment. In order to keep...

Old Beijing New Life: Climate Adaptive Urban Regeneration in Old Beijing Center

The site Dashilan is the most sever UHI area of Beijing currently. Located in the center of Old Beijing, it is consist of historical courtyards with flourish old brand commercial and many cultural heritages. High density (15m2/house), almost fully covered by concrete without enough green space, make this area really have a bad living quality and...