BALANCING BUILT ENVIRONMENT: A HYBRID DESIGN APPROACH

The urban heat island effect, as one of the conse-quences of urbanization, could affect the
city envi-ronment and quality of life. The main source of the UHI is the urban structure such
as roads and building etc., as they absorb the solar radiations which increase the temperature
of an area. Increasing the green areas is the most effective and efficient strategy to mitigate
the UHI.

Figure 1-2 Urban Heat Island Profile

(Source : Lawrence Berkeley Labs 2016)

1.2.1. Identification of Causes of Urban Heat Island

1.2.1.1. Anthropogenic heat

Anthropogenic Heat is a quite crucial factor heat island effect, because the per capita energy
use depends upon the population density. (Alexandri, 2006).In certain high density areas,
anthropogenic heat release can be equal to or even more than the solar input in winter and
on some occasions in summer also, because of the high use of air conditioning systems
(Alexandri, 2006).Due to human activities in the urban environment a lot of particulates are
produced, mostly by industry, vehicles and the burning of fossil fuels for heating, cooling or
electricity generation. The significance of each source varies according to the characteristics
of each city. The major sources are: 1. Heat generation by cooling and heating buildings
respectively in hot summer and cold winter; 2. Industrial heat generation; 3. Energy use in
transportation. Similarly, As the human gathering is prominent at the city centers owing to the
availability of various facilities, emission of CO 2 is also huge in these areas. CO 2 stores heat,
causing enhanced atmospheric temperature. The ultimate effect is that it assists in the
formation of heat island to a great extent. (Md., 2015)

1.2.1.2. Destruction of forest and vegetation

To meet the demand of various urban facilities, forests are wiped out in a massive scale.
Lesser trees mean less cooling efficiency. Trees intercept the solar heat and also absorb CO 2
for their own photosynthesis, making the environment cool (Akbari et al. 2001). With the
destruction of plant life, the efficiency of cooling system goes radically down, causing creation
of the process. (Md., 2015)

GROUP-5 4