CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

In the recent years low density areas of cities have been densified. This urban planning intervention is needed for achieve sustainable compactness developments. But the way of these developments impacts on the boundaries microclimate conditions is not always a sustainable upgrade. This study assesses the air temperature modification in the summer season for an arid city that have been intensifying the urban density in the last years. In order to quantify this impact a series of urban scenarios were tested. ENVI-met software were used to develop three low density neighborhoods (attached one story houses), and twenty-one mixed density neighborhoods (attached one story houses with three storey buildings). For the low density, we combine three urban patterns (reticular, cul-de-sac and organic), and for the mixed density this three patterns were combine with seven buildings footprints shapes (box, ribbon, rotated ribbon, comb, mirror comb, U form, mirror U form). Also, in each scenario eight ?receptors? were defined, four of them were placed around the central street and the buildings, and the others four were placed in the boundaries of each scenario. The simulation area has 250 x 250 meters. For visual purpose an hyperlink were created to show the scenarios layout: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Sq79-MYaj4d5_JxLyYRl7j_X8u_eRsyY?usp=sharingIn a preliminary stage, the results show a series of findings: -the mixed density scenarios increases the air temperature in the boundaries points (low density areas), the highest impact reaches an air temperature increase of 1.5ºC in the maximum and 0.9ºC in the minimum, in the cul-de-sac pattern.-inside each urban pattern the different buildings footprints shapes have not significant thermal behaviors differences, -by contrasting the three urban patterns there are air temperature differences, cul-de-sac pattern remains warmer and the reticular and organic urban patterns maintain similar thermal behaviors.This is a first-step study that indicates that when the mixed density is included in developed low density neighborhoods, the thermal impact is reflected by the urban pattern. In this sense, the ?urban form? of a neighborhood is a vital variable that can reflects the thermal behavior in planning stages. The challenge we face now is what is the best combination of mixed density inside a low density areas? And in which extend can improve the outdoor thermal comfort of a community by incorporated mixed density?

enviar mensaje