Ventilating Cities

The majority of the world's population live in environments with artificially weakened wind as buildings in urban areas form wind-breaks and reduce wind speeds. Anthropogenic heat is also generated and during the summer dense urban areas suffer from the urban heat island effect, a known urban climate problem. This book discusses how to evaluate the urban wind environment, including ventilation performance and thermal comfort. This book is organized in two parts; Wind Environment and the Urban Environment and Criteria for Assessing Breeze Environments. It includes chapters on sea breeze in urban areas; thermal adaptation and the effect of wind on thermal comfort; health risk of exposures; pollutant transport in dense urban areas; legal regulations for urban ventilation and new criteria for assessing the local wind environment.

Keywords: urban wind environments, urban heat island, urban climate, land use change, thermal comfort, risk assessment, urban air pollution, urban ventilation

1. Introduction. - Part I: Wind Environment and Urban Environment. - 2. Sea breeze blowing into urban area: mitigation of the urban heat island phenomenon. - 3. Thermal adaptation outdoors and the effect of wind on thermal comfort. - 4. Health Risk of Exposure to Vehicular Emissions in Wind Stagnant Street Canyons. - 5. Pollutant Transport in Dense Urban Areas. - Part II: Criteria for Assessing Breeze Environment. - 6. Legal regulations for urban ventilation. - 7. New Criteria for Assessing Local Wind Environment at Pedestrian Level and the Applications. - Index.