Thermal bioclimate as a factor in urban and architectural planning in tropical climates—The case of Campinas, Brazil

Urban climate studies can provide information necessary for the improvement of conditions of thermal comfort for people in cities in the Tropics. This paper presents thermal bioclimate analysis of a case study in Campinas, Brazil, using air temperature (T a ), mean radiant temperature (T mrt ), and...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Urban ecosystems 2014-06, Vol.17 (2), p.489-500
Main Authors: Abreu-Harbich, Loyde V., Labaki, Lucila C., Matzarakis, Andreas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air temperature
Analysis
Architecture
Bioclimatology
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Climate change
Climate studies
Design
Ecology
Ecosystems
Energy consumption
Environmental Management
Heat
Heat tolerance
Life Sciences
Microclimate
Morphology
Nature Conservation
Outdoors
Radiation
Relative humidity
Solar radiation
Studies
Sustainability
Thermal comfort
Topography
Tropical environments
Urban areas
Urban Ecology
Urban planning
Vegetation
Wind speed
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Urban climate studies can provide information necessary for the improvement of conditions of thermal comfort for people in cities in the Tropics. This paper presents thermal bioclimate analysis of a case study in Campinas, Brazil, using air temperature (T a ), mean radiant temperature (T mrt ), and Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET), which can be used as assessment factors for urban and architectural planning in tropical climate. The meteorological data air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation for the period 2003 to 2010 were used to calculate T mrt and PET using the RayMan Pro model. Simulations of shade and wind speed variations were performed to quantify changes in thermal bioclimate due to modifications in urban morphology. The results show that solar radiation and wind speed not only influence air temperature, but also more extensive thermal comfort and heat stress as well. Furthermore, the simulations of the variation of wind speed and shade conditions demonstrate that shade can improve thermal comfort situations in terms of PET above 35 °C. The improvement of outdoor thermal comfort is an important step in achieving sustainability of urban spaces and configurations. These results are valuable for architects, planners, and urban designers for the description of conditions and the development of possibilities for improving microclimatic conditions based on urban design and configurations.
ISSN:1083-8155
1573-1642
DOI:10.1007/s11252-013-0339-7