Uploaded on 2017-04-16 by carolina batista

1 - All the cities I had a look at (Chicago, New York, Syracuse, Austin) showed higher temperatures in urban areas than in surrounding rural areas. As they explain in the site, 57 of the 60 cities analyzed had measurable UHI over the past 10 years. 2 - Yes. The local Universities are developing researches related to UHI in Campinas. Two of them stated that the city is suffering the effects of UHI. The researcher Alessandra Prata Shimomura from Unicamp verified (using images from NASA's Landsat programe) that the average annual temperature in Campinas increased 3°C in the last 10 years and that the central areas showed temperatures 1,8°C higher than the peripheral areas. Landsat Images comparing temperatures in Campinas in 2001 and 2011. Alessandra P. Shimomura (Image 1: Landsat Images comparing temperatures in Campinas in 2001 and 2011. Alessandra P. Shimomura) Source: Dinâmica urbana e ordenamento territorial: mapa climático urbano e sua aplicação no planejamento (nº 10/19447-7); Modalidade Jovem Pesquisador; Pesquisadora responsável Alessandra Rodrigues Prata Shimomura (Unicamp) (Image 2: Avenue Francisco Glicerio. Campinas city centre. Image: Google street view.) It is easy to note that the majority of cities in São Paulo have hotter urban central areas when compared to the peripheral areas. It is mostly due to high density of concrete buildings and high levels of paved streets in addition to the scarcity of trees on the streets or green spaces in central areas. (Image 3: high income residential area in Campinas. Image: Google street view.) 3 - In order to achieve results in short-term, I would propose planting wide canopy trees in central streets so they could provide shadow and help to increase humidity levels. Than, I would try to provide more green areas in public spaces. And for long-term results, I would try to include wind studies to the zoning code, to regulate the construction of future buildings in a way that they wouldn't form a building-wall, blocking the wind and reducing the ventilation of key central areas. 4 - Unfortunately, there are no public policies planned to reduce UHI effects in Campinas. However, we can find academics developing researches and reports to show the local government the necessity to considerate UHI effects on the livability levels at the city. Also, these researches are showing that recent natural disasters that hit the city are due to climate changes and the risks of future disasters can be reduced by adopting simple measures at the present.