Uploaded on 2015-12-15 by RoserIgual

In a city like Brussels, that has the most congested traffic in North America and Europe according to US traffic information platform Inrix (that produces a high index of pollution) and a high density of population (which increases the amount of energy demand and consumed), the UHI effect has an important consequence in the livability of the city. The UHI decreases the air and water quality (that is already not too much visible in the city) and consequently te environment. The firt photo shows an avenue in the center of the city close to where I live, that has a lot of trafic jams due to the lack of coordination between public and private transport and the poor manage of the trafic signs. The area has also a medium density, with 6-10 floors buildings that are constantly consuming energy. In the surrounding area we observed that the traffic is still a problem for the city but we mostly find green areas and low density. 3. Which are the measures you would propose? If I could help to change the actual condition I would introduce more green areas in the center, and besides trying to reduce the consum of energy by applying political measures I will try to reuse the waist of energy that the buildings have in order to produce other types of energy. 4. Is UHI effect concerning policy making in your area? The Brussels's urban heat island (UHI) effect was estimated between 1955 and 2006 during the summer months, showing as results that the urban bias on minimum air temperature was rising at a higher rate, 2.5 times (2.85 ground-based observed) more, than on maximum temperature, with a linear trend of 0.15 °C (0.19 °C ground-based observed) and 0.06 °C (0.06 °C ground-based observed) per decade respectively. The 40 year annual mean urban bias on mean temperature at Uccle will be 0.62 °C. Citation: Hamdi, R. and Van de Vyver, H.: Estimating urban heat island effects on near-surface air temperature records of Uccle (Brussels, Belgium): an observational and modeling study, Adv. Sci. Res., 6, 27-34, doi:10.5194/asr-6-27-2011, 2011. Besides this study, I could not find any policies applied in the city regarding these topic. ![Urban Area][2] ![Rural Area][1] [1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14502140155494734.jpg [2]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14502140326068538.jpg