Microclimatic Design
Microclimate is the condition of solar and terrestrial radiation, wind, air temperature, humidity, and precipitation in a small outdoor space. Many of these elements are invisible to the human eye, but they can strongly influence people’s every-day decisions such as whether or not to walk to work, to play sports in a park, or even to garden in the backyard.
Microclimatic design proposes modifications to the urban landscape that will ameliorate hot and/or cold conditions. It uses energy budget modeling to identify the stream(s) of energy that most affect a person’s heat load and suggests ways that those streams can be modified.
Microclimatic-Design Research: Global Network (MDRGN)
The Microclimatic-Design Research: Global Network (MDRGN) is an international think-tank of landscape architecture and urban planning faculty, students, and professionals from around the world who meet online weekly to discuss how urban environments can be planned and designed to be more thermally comfortable. We study how the landscape affects the microclimate, and how microclimates affect the health and well-being of people. We are particularly interested in ameliorating the effects of global climate change (GCC) and urban heat island intensification (UHII) that are making cities hotter and more dangerous during heat waves. Our work has an emphasis on providing safer microclimatic conditions for vulnerable populations such as children and older adults as well as disadvantaged communities.
To join this network and weekly virtual meetings, please contact Dr. Brown for more details.
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