Effects of Densification on Urban Microclimate—A Case Study for the City of Vienna
Climate adaptation, mitigation, and protecting strategies are becoming even more important as climate change is intensifying. The impacts of climate change are especially tangible in dense urban areas due to the inherent characteristics of urban structure and materiality. To assess impacts of densif...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-04-01
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| Series: | Atmosphere |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/12/4/511 |
| _version_ | 1797537341700571136 |
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| author | Wolfgang Loibl Milena Vuckovic Ghazal Etminan Matthias Ratheiser Simon Tschannett Doris Österreicher |
| author_facet | Wolfgang Loibl Milena Vuckovic Ghazal Etminan Matthias Ratheiser Simon Tschannett Doris Österreicher |
| author_sort | Wolfgang Loibl |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Climate adaptation, mitigation, and protecting strategies are becoming even more important as climate change is intensifying. The impacts of climate change are especially tangible in dense urban areas due to the inherent characteristics of urban structure and materiality. To assess impacts of densification on urban climate and potential adaptation strategies a densely populated Viennese district was modeled as a typical sample area for the city of Vienna. The case study analyzed the large-scale densification potential and its potential effects on microclimate, air flow, comfort, and energy demand by developing 3D models of the area showing the base case and densification scenarios. Three methods were deployed to assess the impact of urban densification: Micro-climate analysis (1) explored urban heat island phenomena, wind pattern analysis (2) investigated ventilation and wind comfort at street level, and energy and indoor climate comfort analysis (3) compared construction types and greening scenarios and analyzed their impact on the energy demand and indoor temperatures. Densification has negative impacts on urban microclimates because of reducing wind speeds and thus weakening ventilation of street canyons, as well as accelerating heat island effects and associated impact on the buildings. However, densification also has daytime cooling effects because of larger shaded areas. On buildings, densification may have negative effects especially in the new upper, sun-exposed floors. Construction material has less impact than glazing area and rooftop greening. Regarding adaptation to climate change, the impacts of street greening, green facades, and green roofs were simulated: The 24-h average mean radiant temperature (MRT) at street level can be reduced by up to 15 K during daytime. At night there is only a slight reduction by a few tenths of 1 K MRT. Green facades have a similar effect on MRT reduction, while green roofs show only a slight reduction by a few tenths of 1 K MRT on street level. The results show that if appropriate measures were applied, negative effects of densification could be reduced, and positive effects could be achieved. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T12:14:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c0a54ad8ddd7417293687988f15a8c04 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T12:14:46Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-c0a54ad8ddd7417293687988f15a8c042023-11-21T15:59:49ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332021-04-0112451110.3390/atmos12040511Effects of Densification on Urban Microclimate—A Case Study for the City of ViennaWolfgang Loibl0Milena Vuckovic1Ghazal Etminan2Matthias Ratheiser3Simon Tschannett4Doris Österreicher5AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Giefinggasse 6, 1210 Vienna, AustriaVRVis Zentrum für Virtual Reality und Visualisierung Forschungs-GmbH, Donau-City-Straße 11, 1220 Vienna, AustriaAIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Giefinggasse 6, 1210 Vienna, AustriaWeatherpark GmbH, Gardegasse 3, 1070 Vienna, AustriaWeatherpark GmbH, Gardegasse 3, 1070 Vienna, AustriaDepartment of Landscape, Spatial and Infrastructure Sciences, Institute of Spatial Planning, Environmental Planning and Land Rearrangement, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1190 Vienna, AustriaClimate adaptation, mitigation, and protecting strategies are becoming even more important as climate change is intensifying. The impacts of climate change are especially tangible in dense urban areas due to the inherent characteristics of urban structure and materiality. To assess impacts of densification on urban climate and potential adaptation strategies a densely populated Viennese district was modeled as a typical sample area for the city of Vienna. The case study analyzed the large-scale densification potential and its potential effects on microclimate, air flow, comfort, and energy demand by developing 3D models of the area showing the base case and densification scenarios. Three methods were deployed to assess the impact of urban densification: Micro-climate analysis (1) explored urban heat island phenomena, wind pattern analysis (2) investigated ventilation and wind comfort at street level, and energy and indoor climate comfort analysis (3) compared construction types and greening scenarios and analyzed their impact on the energy demand and indoor temperatures. Densification has negative impacts on urban microclimates because of reducing wind speeds and thus weakening ventilation of street canyons, as well as accelerating heat island effects and associated impact on the buildings. However, densification also has daytime cooling effects because of larger shaded areas. On buildings, densification may have negative effects especially in the new upper, sun-exposed floors. Construction material has less impact than glazing area and rooftop greening. Regarding adaptation to climate change, the impacts of street greening, green facades, and green roofs were simulated: The 24-h average mean radiant temperature (MRT) at street level can be reduced by up to 15 K during daytime. At night there is only a slight reduction by a few tenths of 1 K MRT. Green facades have a similar effect on MRT reduction, while green roofs show only a slight reduction by a few tenths of 1 K MRT on street level. The results show that if appropriate measures were applied, negative effects of densification could be reduced, and positive effects could be achieved.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/12/4/511urban microclimateurban fabricurban densificationmicroclimate simulationsurban heat island effectclimate adaption measures |
| spellingShingle | Wolfgang Loibl Milena Vuckovic Ghazal Etminan Matthias Ratheiser Simon Tschannett Doris Österreicher Effects of Densification on Urban Microclimate—A Case Study for the City of Vienna Atmosphere urban microclimate urban fabric urban densification microclimate simulations urban heat island effect climate adaption measures |
| title | Effects of Densification on Urban Microclimate—A Case Study for the City of Vienna |
| title_full | Effects of Densification on Urban Microclimate—A Case Study for the City of Vienna |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Densification on Urban Microclimate—A Case Study for the City of Vienna |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Densification on Urban Microclimate—A Case Study for the City of Vienna |
| title_short | Effects of Densification on Urban Microclimate—A Case Study for the City of Vienna |
| title_sort | effects of densification on urban microclimate a case study for the city of vienna |
| topic | urban microclimate urban fabric urban densification microclimate simulations urban heat island effect climate adaption measures |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/12/4/511 |
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