Energy and Climate in the Urban Built Environment

About this book

Both the number and percentage of people living in urban areas is growing rapidly. Up to half of the world??'s population is expected to be living in a city by the end of the century and there are over 170 cities in the world with populations over a million.Cities have a huge impact on the local climate and require vast quantities of energy to keep them functioning. The urban environment in turn has a big impact on the performance and needs of buildings. The size, scale and mechanism of these interactions are poorly understood and strategies to mitigate them are rarely implemented.This is the first comprehensive book to address these questions. It arises out of a program of work (POLISTUDIES) carried out for the Save program of the European Commission. Chapters describe not only the main problems encountered such as the heat island and canyon effects, but also a range of design solutions that can be adopted both to improve the energy performance and indoor air quality of individual buildings and to look at aspects of urban design that can reduce these climatic effects. The book concludes with some examples of innovative urban bioclimatic buildings.The project was coordinated by Professor Mat Santamouris from the University of Athens who is also the editor of the book. Other contributions are from the University of Thessaloniki, Greece, ENTPE, Lyons, France and the University of Stuttgart, Germany.

Contents

Part 1 * On the Built Environment i? the Urban Influences * Climate and Climate Change * Wind Patterns in Urban Environments * Wind Patterns in Urban Environments * Thermal Balance in the Urban Environment * Heat-island Effect * The Canyon Effect * The Energy Impact of the Urban Environment * Short-wave Radiation * Urban Pollution * The Role of Green Spaces * Appropriate Materials for the Urban Environment * Applied Lighting Technology for Urban Buildings * Active Solar Heating Systems for Urban Areas * Indoor Air Quality and Ventilation in the Urban Environment * Urban Settlements * Part 2 * Guidelines for Integrating Energy Conservation Techniques in Urban Buildings * Examples of Urban Buildings * Appendix * Index

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