Microclimatic Strategies for “Vila Residencial da UFRJ”: Mitigating the Effects of High Temperatures

Abstract

The urban morphology and both pavement and edifications materiality influence directly on the microclimate. Thus, urban form and microclimatic researches cooperate with the understanding of this interaction, besides they may evidence solutions to attenuate these negative effects in weather, such as the heat-island effect, which makes the environment comfort worse in cities of the tropical countries. In previous studies, a diagnostic of “Vila Residencial da UFRJ”, situated on Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has been done considering the variation of intra-urban temperature. The air temperature values have been measured and simulated in the interior of the Village as well as in its surroundings, in other to find the most intense heat areas. From the diagnostic about the region (urban morphology forwarding; climate variables and socioeconomic information), analysis and proposals of intervention strategies have been developed, tested with a broader series of computational simulations. Following the study, this article presents the developing process of an illustrated guide, in clear and accessible language, for the local people and leadership, exposing the relation between the factors that can increase temperature and the indicated means of mitigating them. The strategies were thought for the broader scenario of the Residential Village, fulfilling the needs of environmental comfort and the possibility of implementation according to local peculiarities, such as: the lack of space in some sidewalks and streets, making impracticable the planting of tree species; the need to work with low-cost materials and local labor, very often few specialized ones; absence of space between the buildings, among others.