Abstract
Industrial districts are characterized by the presence of low and extensive building volumes and by predominantly sealed, impermeable surfaces, which contribute to several environmental problems and to the deterioration of outdoor human thermal comfort conditions, especially during summer hot days. To tackle these issues, this study proposes an approach for the regeneration of industrial districts based on the application of cool materials. Reflective and evaporative pavements were selected as suitable solutions to reduce summer overheating, while ensuring the functionality required by the industrial production, and contributing to stormwater management. The effectiveness of the approach was tested in a portion of the industrial district of Padua (Italy). In summer conditions, the replacement of conventional pavements with cool materials results in a reduction of the ground surface temperatures up to 14.0 °C and a consequent decrease of the air temperature at pedestrian level between 0.6 and 1.2 °C. The effects of human thermal comfort conditions highly depend on the selected cool material and on the morphology of the urban canyon. Finally, the reduction of external surface and air temperatures also contributes in cooling indoor spaces (average decrease from 1.0 to 2.5 °C), with impacts on the energy efficiency of the industrial buildings.
Highlights
The vegetated areas exposed to the sun were about 10 ◦ C cooler than the asphalt surfaces, while Ts in shaded areas ranged from 20 to 33 ◦ C, both on asphalt surfaces shaded by trees, and on concrete surfaces shaded by buildings (Figure 5a), the latter values confirming the cooling effect provided by green surfaces, and natural or artificial shadings
The results show that a combination of reflective and evaporative pavements can potentially help in decreasing urban surface temperatures, improving human thermal comfort conditions, mitigating urban heat island, and contributing to effective stormwater management
During the hottest hours of a typical summer day (i.e., 29 July 2019), the replacement of conventional ground materials with reflective and evaporative pavements leads to the reduction of ground surfaces temperatures up to 14 ◦ C and 6 ◦ C, respectively
Summary
The replacement of natural surfaces with artificial materials is responsible for the significant increase of air temperature in urban areas compared to the surrounding environment (i.e., urban heat island effect (UHI)), and land sealing, which in turn results in surface stormwater runoff problems [8]. The major amplifier of climate risk factors is the expected intensification of extreme climate phenomena, especially heat waves and intense rainfalls. In this context, the Veneto region is among the areas in Italy most affected by soil sealing, with a share of more than 12% sealed surface [53] This results in several environmental issues, including the presence of urban heat island, and problems in stormwater management
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