Abstract
In recent years, many new districts in urban centres have been planned and constructed to reshape the structure and functions of specific areas. Urban regeneration strategies, planning and design principles have to take into account both socioeconomic perspectives and environmental sustainability. A district located in the historical city centre of Terni (Italy), Corso del Popolo, was analysed to assess the construction effects in terms of surface urban heat island (SUHI) mitigation. This district is an example of urban texture modification planned in the framework of the regeneration of the ancient part of the town. The changes were realised starting from 2006; the new area was completed on June 2014. The analysis was carried out by processing Landsat 7 ETM+ images before and after the interventions, retrieving land surface temperature (LST) and albedo maps. The map analysis proved the SUHI reduction of the new area after the interventions: as confirmed by the literature, such SUHI mitigation can be ascribed to the presence of green areas, the underground parking, the partial covering of the local roadway and the shadow effect of new multi-storey buildings. Moreover, an analysis of other parameters linked to the impervious surfaces (albedo, heat transfer and air circulation) driving LST variations is provided to better understand SUHI behaviour at the district level. The district regeneration shows that wisely planned and developed projects in the construction sector can improve urban areas not only economically and socially, but can also enhance the environmental impact.
Highlights
The urbanization processes and related environmental effects are increasingly steered to the study of the urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon
A district located in the historical city centre of Terni (Italy), Corso del Popolo, was analysed to assess the construction effects in terms of surface urban heat island (SUHI) mitigation
Corso del Popolo district is an example of urban texture modification planned as regeneration of the ancient part of the town of Terni, and the assessment of the sustainable construction in terms of SUHI mitigation is an important practice
Summary
The urbanization processes and related environmental effects are increasingly steered to the study of the urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon. Urban texture and construction materials can cause an increase of air and surface temperatures of several degrees with respect to the surrounding rural areas. Unlike in situ measurements, providing uneven distributed data, satellite observations have the advantages of covering large areas at the same time, and during different temporal intervals, ensuring a more effective analysis of the intra-urban SUHI spatial variability, closely related to the building distribution, surface materials and vegetation density. A district located in the historical city centre, Corso del Popolo, is analysed, where a clear construction intervention was realized starting from 2006; the intervention ended in June 2014 This district is an example of urban texture modification in the construction sector planned for the regeneration of the ancient part of the town. The synergy of satellite techniques and analytical studies is aimed at assessing whether the planning and design principles fulfil the sustainability requirements in terms of urban heat island mitigation, and the more evident reasons for the heating variations
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