Anthropogenic Vehicular Heat and Its Influence on Urban Planning

Abstract

Anthropogenic heat (QF) is one of the parameters that contributes to the urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon. Usually, this variable is studied holistically, among other anthropogenic flux such as industrial, vehicular, buildings, and human metabolism, due to the complexity of data collection through field measurements. The aim of this paper was to weigh vehicular anthropogenic heat and its impact on the thermal profile of an urban canyon. A total of 108 simulations were carried out, using the ANSYS Fluent ® software, incorporating variables such as the number of vehicles, wind speed, urban canyon orientation, and urban canyon aspect ratio. The results were compared with a database of 61 American cities in 2015 and showed that orientation is the main factor of alteration in vehicular heat flow, increasing it in a range of 2 °C to 6.5 °C, followed by the wind speed (1.2 to 2.2 m/s), which allows for decreases of 1 to 3.8 °C. The exploration of these variables and their weighing in the definition of urban street canyon temperature profiles at the canopy level of urban structures provides valuable information on the hygrothermal comfort of its inhabitants; its appropriate quantification can be an example of many urban energy balances altering processes.

Spatially Explicit Modeling of Anthropogenic Heat Intensity in Beijing Center Area: An Investigation of Driving Factors with Urban Spatial Forms

“…Research on regulating anthropogenic heat fluxes can be categorized into two scales: urban and building. At the urban scale, studies primarily focus on reducing emissions from transportation sources [10][11][12][13], and developing sustainable urban expansion strategies [14][15][16]. Various approaches such as promoting public transportation, implementing cycling infrastructure, and optimizing traffic management systems have been explored to curb transportation-related emissions.…”

Contribution of Landscape Transformation in the Development of Heat Islands and Sinks in Urban and Peri-Urban Regions in the Chota–Nagpur Plateau, India

“…By 2045, the number of people living in cities will have increased by 1.5 times to 6 billion, adding 2 billion more urban residents [11]. Anthropogenic heat flux by vehicles, industries, and complex urban structures directly affects microclimatic variables such as mean radiative temperature, humidity, and air quality, contributing to the urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon [12]. Surface materials such as pavements and building roofs strongly influence the urban local climate, based on their ability to absorb, reflect, and transmit solar radiation [13], which depends on the color of paving or building materials [14].…”