{"id":794,"date":"2018-03-28T10:38:22","date_gmt":"2018-03-28T10:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zoldenergiablog.hu\/en\/?page_id=794"},"modified":"2018-03-28T10:41:26","modified_gmt":"2018-03-28T10:41:26","slug":"stuttgart-combating-the-heat-island-effect-and-poor-air-quality-with-green-ventilation-corridors","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/zoldenergiablog.hu\/en\/archive\/stuttgart-combating-the-heat-island-effect-and-poor-air-quality-with-green-ventilation-corridors\/","title":{"rendered":"Stuttgart: combating the heat island effect and poor air quality with green ventilation corridors"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Stuttgart\u2019s location in a valley basin, its mild climate, low wind speeds, industrial activity and high volume of traffic has made it susceptible to poor air quality. Development on the valley slopes has prevented air from moving through the city, which worsens the air quality and contributes to the urban heat island effect. A Climate Atlas was developed for the Stuttgart region, presenting the distribution of temperature and cold air flows according to the city\u2019s topography and land use. Based on this information, a number of planning and zoning regulations are recommended that also aim to preserve and increase open space in densely built-up areas.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/zoldenergiablog.hu\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/03\/botanic15-300x179.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-795\" src=\"http:\/\/zoldenergiablog.hu\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/03\/botanic15-300x179-300x179.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"179\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Challenges<\/h2>\n<p>The city&#8217;s location has a significant influence on its local climate including implications for solar radiation, air temperature, humidity, precipitation and wind. Stuttgart sits in the wide Neckar basin formed by two river valleys, shielded by steep hill slopes. Stuttgart&#8217;s centre is located at about 240m above sea level, while the surrounding hills rise to 500m a.s.l.<\/p>\n<p>Stuttgart has a mild, temperate climate with warm summers. Wind speeds throughout the city are generally low, which along with the urban heat island effect, contributes to poor air quality. The future climate projections for 2071-2100 suggest a 2\u00baC increase of mean annual temperature in Stuttgart. The projections for heat waves (T&gt;30\u00b0C) suggest that the number of days with heat stress (when people\u2019s thermoregulation is impaired) will increase significantly. By 2100, 57% of the Greater Stuttgart region could have more than 30 days with heat stress (in the low lying areas over 60 days). Therefore, a significantly higher percentage of people are likely to be exposed to the risks associated with heat waves than at present.<\/p>\n<h2>Objectives<\/h2>\n<p>The primary objective for the region of Stuttgart is to facilitate air exchange in the city, thereby enhancing the potential for cool air flow from the hills towards the urban areas on the valley floor.<\/p>\n<h2>Solutions<\/h2>\n<p>The Climate Atlas for the region of Stuttgart was published in 2008, based on the previous work in this area carried out by the City of Stuttgart since the 1980s and the in-house urban climatology department (in existence in the City of Stuttgart since 1938). The Climate Atlas provides standardised climatic assessments for the 179 towns and municipalities in the Stuttgart region. The Atlas comprises maps which show regional wind patterns, flows of cold air, air pollution concentrations, and other relevant information required to inform planners on what to do for urban climatic optimization that could inform new projects and retrofits. A key element of the Atlas is an area classification based on the role that different locations play in air exchange and cool airflow in the Stuttgart region, based on topography, development density and character, and provision of green space. The Atlas distinguishes eight categories of areas in this manner, and for each of them different planning measures and recommendations are provided.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to responding to local climate characteristics, the following principles form the basis for the planning recommendations included in the \u201cClimate Booklet for Urban Development Online \u2013 St\u00e4dtebauliche Klimafibel Online\u201d:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Vegetation should be placed to surround developments and larger, connected green spaces should be created or maintained throughout developed areas to facilitate air exchange;<\/li>\n<li>Valleys serve as air delivery corridors and should not be developed;<\/li>\n<li>Hillsides should remain undeveloped, especially when development exists in valleys, since intensive cold- and fresh-air transport occurs here;<\/li>\n<li>Saddle-like topographies serve as air induction corridors and should not be developed;<\/li>\n<li>Urban sprawl is to be avoided;<\/li>\n<li>All trees growing in the urban core with a trunk circumference of more than 80 cm at height of 1m are protected with a tree preservation order.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The implementation of the recommendations in the Climate Atlas is carried out by the Office for Urban Planning and Urban Renewal, supported by the Office for Environmental Protection. The Section of Urban Climatology within the Office for Environmental Protection evaluates the climatic implications of intended development and larger buildings. As a result of the implementation of the recommendations included in the Climate Atlas and Climate Booklet, over 39% of Stuttgart\u2019s surface area has been put under the protection of nature conservation orders; a record in Germany. As a result of greening actions, greenery covers more than 60% of the city. Stuttgart contains 5,000 hectares of forests and woodland, 65,000 trees in parks and open spaces and 35,000 street trees. 300,000 square meters of rooftops have been greened and 40 out of 250 kilometres of tram tracks have been grassed (as of 2007). In line with the city development vision, 60 hectares of greenfield land previously earmarked for development has been cut from the 2010 land development plan to protect existing green space. Targeted interventions such as a building ban in the hills around the town, and prevention of building projects that might obstruct the ventilation effect of nocturnal cold-air flows have resulted in preservation and enhancement of air exchange and cool air flows in the city.<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"http:\/\/climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stuttgart\u2019s location in a valley basin, its mild climate, low wind speeds, industrial activity and high volume of traffic has made it susceptible to poor air quality. Development on the valley slopes has prevented air from moving through the city, &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/zoldenergiablog.hu\/en\/archive\/stuttgart-combating-the-heat-island-effect-and-poor-air-quality-with-green-ventilation-corridors\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"parent":23,"menu_order":201,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zoldenergiablog.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/794"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zoldenergiablog.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zoldenergiablog.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zoldenergiablog.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zoldenergiablog.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=794"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/zoldenergiablog.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":797,"href":"http:\/\/zoldenergiablog.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/794\/revisions\/797"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zoldenergiablog.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zoldenergiablog.hu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}