Analysis of temperature variability within outdoor urban spaces at multiple scales

Abstract

The urban densification strategy, currently adopted by the largest world cities, seriously affects the open urban spaces climate. To explore the consequences of this influence at tropical latitudes, this work analyzes temperature variability within outdoor urban spaces at three scales. The case study is a São Paulo City neighborhood, Brazil, currently under densification. The analysis aims to highlight the climate effects caused by single or aggregated urban forms. The temperature series are obtained from six weather stations and three field monitoring equipment. A local climate zone (LCZ) map is used to define the urban structure, while the statistical techniques application allows the interconnection of temperature variability, sun access and urban morphology. At different scales, findings show different degrees of outdoor temperature variability. The predominance of the geographical position and whole-city heat island on the urban morphology is detected in the mesoscale domain, while climate contrasts between compact high-rise and low-rise local zones are highlighted. The climate analysis around isolated urban elements shows that high-rise building exposure induces various surrounding microclimates, having the shadow projection as main forcing. An urban canyon model is finally proposed as a practical and replicable urban tool to correlate daylight and geometrical parameters.