Urban heating, lack of green and lack of space: proposals for urban redesign to adapt to climate change at the microscale in the city of São Paulo

• Grant number: 21/04751-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: August 01, 2022
• End date: July 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Architecture and Town Planning - Architecture and Urbanism Technology
• Principal Investigator: Denise Helena Silva Duarte
• Grantee: Luiza Sobhie Muñoz
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo (FAU). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 23/03279-8 - Urban heating, lack of green and lack of space: proposal of a new green factor for the city of São Paulo, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

The increase in temperature and heavy rains and droughts are consequences of climate change resulting from a profound environmental imbalance. At the urban scale, the patterns of land use and occupation amplify these problems and, although vegetation is essential, as a mitigation and adaptation strategy, urban areas, for the most part, are predominantly arid, as a result of the lack and inefficiency of plans and projects that can reverse this situation. In this context, this research starts from the hypothesis that, even in consolidated and densely occupied urban areas in the city of São Paulo, at first sight without space for green, the urban redesign, guided and encouraged by innovative urban instruments, makes possible the insertion and the increase in vegetation in public and private spaces. To this end, the objective is to develop possible patterns of insertion and increase of vegetation in consolidated and densely occupied areas, to quantify the spatial and microclimate feasibility of the proposal and to subsidize public policies for adaptation to climate change at the local scale. For this, public databases are used to select the study area, based on pre-established criteria. Through simulations in the ENVI-met model, the current situation and the proposed new standards in the current and future climate will be compared, evaluating the microclimate and thermal comfort results. In addition to the scientific impact, the results will be able to subsidize public policies, at the opportune moment of the launch of new plans and of the discussion around the revision of the São Paulo's Strategic Plan. (AU)