Smart Environment for Smart Cities: Assessing Urban Fabric Types and Microclimate Responses

The objective of the present study was to better understand the way in which the mall scale structure of the urban fabric contributes differentially to heat island effects and other urban climate phenomena, and to use this information to develop specific strategies for counter-acting and mitigating these effects on a local basis. A major focus has been laid on the urban morphology and in articular the urban landscape, and on understanding its interaction with urban microclimate. The aim was to identify climate sensitive urban patterns – using the example of Vienna - and to suggest concrete open space design measures to counteract the overheating effect during hot summer days. The evaluation of the data generated has focused on thermal comfort and on its most relevant climate factors and has taken the form of maps, mean values and diurnal variations. Based on the evaluation of the simulation results and with regard to results of a previous project, a general catalogue of open space design measures has been compiled.