Land Use Changes in a Peri-Urban Area and Consequences on the Urban Heat Island

Nardino Nardino,Laruccia Laruccia

doi:10.3390/cli7110133

Abstract

The effect of urbanization on microclimatic conditions is known as “urban heat islands”. In comparison with surrounding rural areas, urban climate is characterized by higher mean temperature, especially during heat waves and during nights. This results in a higher energy requirement for air conditioning in buildings and in a greater bioclimatic discomfort for urban populations. The reasons of this phenomena are ascribable principally to the increase of solar radiation storage and to the decrease of dissipation of water by evapotranspiration in urban environment respect to rural ones. The aim of this paper is to give a quantification of the air temperature increase due to an urbanization process. This quantification is conducted by comparing surface energy balance (incoming and outcoming radiation and turbulent fluxes) in urbanized area versus rural areas. This quantitative approach will be validated using a fluidodynamic model (Envi-Met) in a case study area representative of one among the various regional models of urban area growth. In particular, the model of expansion of small towns around big cities (2003–2008 land use changes) of a plain near-urban area in the Po Valley region (Italy) was used.

Highlights

The urbanization effect refers to a general increase in population and in the amount of industrialization of a settlement, due principally to the increase, in number and extent, of cities and the movement of people from rural to urban areas
The aim of this paper is to give a quantification of the air temperature increase due to an urbanization process
Land-use and land-cover changes are recognized as causes of local, regional and global warming: The urban areas are the major sources of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels for heating, from industrial processes, from transportation of people, etc. [4,5]

Summary

Introduction

The urbanization effect refers to a general increase in population and in the amount of industrialization of a settlement, due principally to the increase, in number and extent, of cities and the movement of people from rural to urban areas. Land-use and land-cover changes are recognized as causes of local, regional and global warming: The urban areas are the major sources of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels for heating, from industrial processes, from transportation of people, etc. The main effects of land use changes (from rural to urban) can be found on the surface energy and water balances changes. Water balance is strongly influenced by the soil sealing: Urbanization makes the surface permanently covered by impermeable artificial material (e.g. asphalt and concrete), for example through buildings and roads

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