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What’s the consequence of creating concave or at least non convex areas in streets? It is evident that convex spaces create heat pockets; so what if we augment
by PartiallyTyped 3y ago
What’s the consequence of creating concave or at least non convex areas in streets?
It is evident that convex spaces create heat pockets; so what if we augmented our architecture for reflection or at least in a similar manner as anechoic chambers and made it difficult for heat to bounce off?
I understand that this will likely cause higher floors to accumulate more heat, but the surface area getting heated will be larger and thus not concentrated on the road / street level. This is likely a problem for American buildings as they usually have thinner walls.
One such way to construct such surfaces would be planting trees vertically which give shade and absorb heat; though this is likely a maintenance problem.
Streets unfortunately have little space for trees unless of course dependence on cars is reduced and public transportation, bikes and walking become the main methods of commuting as in eg Copenhagen where > 65% commute on foot or by bike or public transport to go to work.
- hedgehog 3y agoI'm not sure I understand what you're getting at but streets are generally convex to direct water to the edges.
- bearbin 3y agoI think GP means "enclosed".
- PartiallyTyped 3y agoIn the graphic of the article the heat pocket is a consequence of a convex structure. Light bounces off the sides and reaches the bottom. A concave structure or at least a non convex one wouldn’t cause something like that.
- hedgehog 3y agoAh, like a canopy of some sort at roof level. I have been places where pedestrian areas are covered in that style and it is pretty effective, the cost is probably the big question. I suppose we'll see that experiment first in wealthier urban shopping areas where it's easier to fund. There are all the issues with managing such structures, especially if they have vegetation on them, but if heat waves keep getting worse it seems inevitable that collectively we'll keep trying different approaches until something sticks.
- ianai 3y agoI think the simplest thing would be painting as many surfaces white as possible. Not entirely fun in full sun though. (Though maybe there’s room for a combination of white surfaces under a light thick canopy of solar panels?)
- PartiallyTyped 3y agoWhile I am a big fan of canopies and they are extensively used where I come from to reduce the heat that reaches the street, they are also not permanent structures and deployed on single or two lane streets. I am thinking that such deployments are harder in 4+ lane streets, so something more permanent needs to be done, and a permanent deployment means obscuring the sun in the winter.
- ianai 3y agoI was thinking white roofs plus solar panels. But indeed the biggest impact would be if roads were white instead of black. With the unsavory effect of blindness sadly.
- PartiallyTyped 3y agoI wonder, perhaps stone could be an alternative? It'd force cars to move at a slower speed, and the variable in shape and structure could help scatter the heat from radiation.
- ianai 3y agoSeems like that might help with snow/ice season. But at the cost of being slower all the time. Be fine with me.
- PartiallyTyped 3y agoI don't think it helps all that much as frost still occurs which is .. problematic.
- mgaunard 3y agoObviously, if you want to build cities that are actually pleasant to be in, the first thing to do is remove cars and make things more comfortable for pedestrians. To me most of the USA is just a dystopian hellscape where you cannot live without a car, and there is no city centre to speak of as you need to drive between points of interest that are spread around along massive motorways.
- PartiallyTyped 3y agoI am 100% with you on this, but I don't think that is feasible at the moment; making them walkable is a great start though. Reduced dependence will enable trees at the street level which will make them even more walkable.
- bombcar 3y agoMaybe the surface will get so hot that you can only move about on it in conditioned vehicles - but underground sidewalks in tunnels will become the walkable city. Kind of like how in some snow cities you can get from skyscraper to skyscraper in elevated walkways.
- bombcar 3y agoIf the first step is to remove something that few people want to do without, you’re just saying the first step is to do nothing. There are many things you can do to make a city more walkable without immediately jumping to currently unworkable ideas like “ban cars”. Like property tax rebates for shaded sidewalks.