Urban climatic map studies in Holland: Arnhem

Abstract

Densely populated cities with compact urban structures can be found all over the world. For the planners and politicians concerned, meeting all the demands and designing a sustainable, healthy, comfortable living environment that its inhabitants can enjoy is no easy job. To achieve success, the planners must include in their processes many factors designed to enhance the development of a safe and comfortable urban area. Climate conditions are a factor worthy of inclusion in these planning processes, particularly with regard to the climate changes to be anticipated. From a scientific perspective, climate conditions must be analysed systematically and introduced strategically into the planning process (Mills et al., 2010). The current global issue of climate change promotes increasing interest between the effects of climate change and spatial planning in terms of adaptation. However, until now, most studies on climate application have been constructed from scientific disciplines such as meteorology, climatology, and physics. None of these studies uses an urban planning perspective. Its absence can be considered an illustration of the huge gap between urban climate research and urban planning (Eliasson, 2000; Mills, 2006). On the one hand, planners, developers and policymakers do not possess enough knowledge of the effects of climate and climate change (Bitan, 1988). Climatic data and scientific research results are not easy for them to understand and integrate into planning processes. On the other hand, climatologists are not familiar with spatial planning procedures and mechanisms, so they cannot provide the appropriate climatic evaluation and information to meet the planners’ real needs (Eliasson, 2000). Thus, appropriate assistance is needed on both sides to bridge the gap. In order to enhance the communication between these two worlds, Urban Climatic Maps (UCMaps) may provide an information and evaluation tool that can further the communication between academic climate experts, built-environment professionals, practitioners, and policymakers.