Mechanical Engineering 772/572

Geog/Arch/Plan/ERS/ TBA

Winter 2000

Urbanization: Can We Design With Nature?

For news discussions and updates see the course Web Board

Wednesday 1:30- 3:20 ES1-132 (ACCESS ROOM)

Thursday 2:30-4:20 CPH 3386

LAB: Thursday 8:30- 11:30 ES1-160 Magellan lab

Team Project presentation (20%) 13 April 8:30-12:00 in the access room.

The main objective of this course is to bring together engineers, planners, landscape designers and ecologists to examine the urban environment in the context of understanding the principles of designing a sustainable and livable city. In particular we will focus on analysing the urban heat island effect and on strategies to mitigate this effect. Case studies will be drawn from the work of Dr. Luvall and his colleagues. Current research projects in Atlanta, Ga, Baton Rouge La, Sacramento, CA. and Salt Lake City, UT will be used as the foundation for the course. (For more information see the WWW site for Prof. Luvall's research work at NASA. ) The course will require some use and understanding of thermodynamics, remotely sensed data sets, and GIS.

Urbanization exists along with deforestation and agriculture, as the most profound example of human alteration of the Earth's surface. Changes that result from urbanization also impact biophysical, hydrologic, and climatic processes, which in turn, affect adjacent natural ecosystems. One of the fundamental alterations that occurs in an urban environment is the replacement of natural vegetation with impervious man-made materials which significantly alter the surface energy budgets. The shift in the partitioning of the energy budget from latent heat to sensible heat and storage causes an increased warming of the air within the urban climate. This warming of the air over cities in contrast to their rural counterparts is known as the "urban heat island" effect. As urban areas across the world continue to grow and form extensive urban megalopolis complexes, larger regions will be affected by the urban heat island phenomenon. We will examine techniques for analysing the shift in the partitioning of the energy budget using remote sensing techniques.

Additionally, urbanization has a tremendous impact on air quality, both over the city and the surrounding countryside. Air quality attainment becomes a critical problem, and is exacerbated by urban growth. Moreover, increased surface temperatures over the city are directly related to an increase in ozone production. Measurement of thermal energy characteristics across the urban landscape, therefore, can be input into air quality models, such as the Urban Airshed Model (UAM) to predict the spatial distribution of photo chemically active pollutants, including ozone.

Many of the environmental effects caused by cities can be reduced by proper urban planning and design. However until recently, an integrated approach to urban planning has not been considered, because of the lack of interaction and communication among planners, engineers, architects, landscape designers, citizens and politicians. This integrated approach has also be hampered by the slow transfer of technology, i.e. scientists' research using fine scale thermal and visible remote sensing data to analyze the urban fabric. We explore ways of involving the community in solving the problems of urban heat islands using the techniques of remote sensing and thermal analysis coupled with appropriate planning practices and building design.

Who may take the course: The course is intended primarily for graduate students and senior undergraduate students from the faculties of engineering and environmental studies. Registration in the course is by permission of instructor. Contact the course instructors if you wish to take the course.

COURSE ASSIGNMENTS:

GROUP WORK:

Project Teams (updated 10 March)

Team Project (50%) Due 7 April by noon. Two copies must be submitted
Team Project presentation (20%) 13 April 8:30-12:00 in the access room.

Description of the project.

A multidisciplinary team approach is required to determine specific mitigation strategies for the urban heat island problem. Therefore the major project will be structured around student teams. Each student will be responsible to contribute his or her expertise to the team. Each team will be given a remotely sensed data set of a city. (We hope to have data sets for a number of cities around the world.) Using these data sets and others, plus techniques taught in the course, each team will analyze consequences of the urban heat island effect for their specific city. Each team will develop a mitigation plan for the city and implementation strategies which will focus on communicating with local planning agencies and community groups in order to develop locally based and supported solutions.

INDIVIDUAL WORK:

Minor research project: (20%) Due: 10 February.
Presentation: 9, 10 February (10%)

Each student will undertake an individual background research project to examine some aspect of the urban heat island effect and its solution. Specific topics will be chosen which reflect the individual student's background and interests. A one page topic statement must be given to the instructors by 21 January. The students will write a background research paper (about 15 pages for graduate students and 7 pages for undergraduates) which will be presented to the class and used by the class in the team project work. As such grading of the project will reflect the utility of the background research for the team project work.

Course readings:

There will be a reader available for the course. Other readings will be provided as needed.

Documentation for the Watts programme.

Syllabus:

Course Instructors:

Dr. J. Luvall
Canada Trust Walter Bean visiting professor in the environment
X 3669
jluvall@uwaterloo.ca

Prof. R. Fraser
Mechanical engineering
X 4764
CPH 3375I
rafraser@engmail.uwaterloo.ca

Prof. J. Kay
Environment and Resource Studies
jjkay@fes.uwaterloo.ca
x 3065
URL: www.fes.uwaterloo.ca/u/jjkay/

Last updated: 21 March, 2000 jjk

URL: ersserver.uwaterloo.ca/jjkay/me772/