Uploaded on 2015-11-11 by CMBB101

***1-Check the temperature differences in US cities*** After reading the document "SUMMER IN THE CITY: HOT AND GETTING HOTTER" from Climate central, the document holds in the subjects that the analyses and as the conclusions said: "Our analysis of 60 large U.S. cities found that nearly all cities are hotter than their nearby rural areas, and in most cases, these cities are also getting hotter faster. During the summer, these urban heat islands have hotter days, and much hotter nights, and tend to have many more extremely hot days each summer. Urban heat islands can have serious health effects for hundreds of millions of people. In the cities we examined, hotter summer temperatures correlated with higher ozone pollution, and the hottest days of the year often saw ozone levels exceed the safe standard established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It is difficult to quantify how much urbanization and climate change each contribute to today’s urban heat islands in the U.S., because each city has a unique and constantly-changing urban landscape and because climate change is regionally sensitive. Yet, it is clear that the combination of continued urbanization and climate change are going to make cities even hotter, threatening the 80 percent of Americans who live in urban environments." What got my attention, isn't the the factor that cities are hot and getting hotter, or the fact that cities with high development are the hottest ones, or that most obvious is that most with the highest temperatures are located in the south; got my attention that it was never showed a map of Climate Zones of U.S., is pretty different a city located in a Dessert, a Continental or a Subtropical climate zone. ***2. Which are the main UHI effects that you can identify in your area?*** Shanghai is located at 31°12′N 121°30′E in a Humid Subtropical climate Zone (picture 2) Shanghai Satellite Image ![Satellite Image Shanghai][1] Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai Climate zones in China (Shanghai located in the red dot) ![Shanghai climate Zone][2] Source: http://www2m.biglobe.ne.jp/ZenTech/English/Climate/China/index.htm Yearly temperature Shanghai ![Temperature][3] Source: http://www2m.biglobe.ne.jp/ZenTech/English/Climate/China/index.htm Administrative divisions of Shanghai ![DIVISIONS][4] Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai Shanghai Satellite thermal reading ![Thermal reading][5] Source: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/HottestSpot/page3.php Urban Center ![Urban center][6] Photography: Carlos Barreto Sub-Urban Area ![Sub-urban][7] Photography: Carlos Barreto Shanghai is a city located in a humid subtropical climate zone with a really high and fast development for the past 10 years, with a population of 24,256,800 people; I live in the Xuhui district (green line in the thermal Satellite Image), where is registered the highest temperature of all the districts in Shanghai, reason like High rising buildings, heavy traffic and the constant use of A/C systems to cool down or warm the buildings are one of them; while the sub-urban Shanghai the density is lower and have mayor quantity of green areas, the temperature is still high even in the outsides of the city. ***3-Which are the measures you would propose?*** I would propose: - Change traffic policies: The misbehavior of Chinese drivers most of the time leads to a heavy traffic or traffic jams, that produce more CO2 emisions within the city center; a more fluid traffic means less use of the car between destinations, less use of the car less CO2 emissions. -Environmental Coefficient: increase environmental areas in the roads and increase public space area per inhabitant. based in the average emissions per month. -Breathing Architecture by policy: with the Environmental coefficient, I would like to propose the implementation of green roofs and facades that compensate the green area taken on the first floor. -Building Insulation by policy: Insulation in the building must be a must, less use of the A/C systems to cool down or warm up the building. ***4. Is UHI effect concerning policy making in your area?*** Is really difficult to find what the Chinese government is doing about the UHI effect, I did find studies about city temperatures and pollution, but not direct policies of mitigation of the UHI. Although in the mayor of Chinese cities (including Shanghai), I started to see green buildings, green walls and greef roof; but this is more a trend than a policy. ![Building at Xuhui area][8] Photography: Carlos Barreto [1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/1447228722399334.jpg [2]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14472297161944975.jpg [3]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14472308733506054.jpg [4]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14472314489644382.jpg [5]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14472323989847787.jpg [6]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14472350018341889.jpg [7]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14472350981969395.jpg [8]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14472382551742077.jpg