Urban Climate Resilience: Atmospheric Dynamics, Building Energy Demand and Their Interactions

Dear Colleagues,

The sustainability and livability of cities represent a major challenge today, especially considering climate change. Such challenge is manifold, concerning both people and the environment.

As is well-known, cities are usually affected by the urban heat island effect, involving urban overheating with respect to the surrounding rural zones. Such a phenomenon results from the transformation of a rural or semi-rural area into an urbanized one and the related alterations in the local surface energy balance and water cycle (e.g., the release of anthropogenic heat, the decreases in surface evapotranspiration and permeability, a reduced sky view factor, and the increased runoff effect in urbanized contexts). Among other anomalies, the ongoing climate change is leading to heat wave frequency and intensity increases, exacerbating this overheating phenomenon. The negative effects of the above lead to environmental deterioration and a reduction in different aspects of urban dwellers’ quality of life, including health and socio-economic factors.

This has drawn the attention of the scientific community, addressing these issues with multiple perspectives and, often, interdisciplinary approaches, leading to a solid body of scientific production on this matter in the recent decades.

This Special Issue on “Urban Climate Resilience: Atmospheric Dynamics, Building Energy Demand and Their Interactions” aims to gather relevant contributions highlighting recent and updated research findings. Contributions focusing on (but not limited to) atmospheric dynamics, air quality, building energy demands in urban areas, and related topics are encouraged. This Special Issue also wishes to encourage a fruitful scientific debate on strategies to alleviate the impact of climate change on the environment and on urban dwellers’ quality of life of urban dwellers. In addition, we also welcome contributions addressing the following:

• co-benefit strategies for urban heat waves and flooding;
• climate adaptation and mitigation strategies for climate equity and justice;
• research exploring integrated approaches to mitigate the impacts of both urban heat waves and flooding, including sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDSs) and other adaptive strategies which provide multiple benefits.

Dr. Serena Falasca
Dr. Ferdinando Salata
Dr. Simona Mannucci
Guest Editors

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• urban climate
• climate change
• urban heat island
• urban floodings
• climate change mitigation and adaptation
• modeling and simulations
• ground-based and satellite observations
• remote sensing
• mitigation and cooling techniques
• buildings