Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The ongoing climate crisis has highlighted the need for sustainability and resilience in the development and maintenance of urban areas regarding climate comfort. Weather simulation tools can assist researchers in understanding the effects weather has on the microclimate in urban areas. While simulations are handled autonomously by computers once set up, the creation of the requisite input urban models is still a highly manual process. In this study, a novel method for the automated generation of urban models using land and cadastral remote sensing data is presented. By analyzing grass, trees, buildings, and roads algorithmically, data can be extracted and configured into spatial models compatible with microclimate simulation software such as ENVI-Met. Comparison to a baseline model shows that our method enables the creation of models fit for use for exploring microclimate scenarios in the urban environment, saving time by eliminating the need for manual processing.
Source: Land
DOI: 10.3390/land15020329
Authors: Max Spett, Kevin Ka-Lun Lau, Agatino Rizzo
Institution: Luleå University of Technology
Language: English
Topic: Urban Heat Island Mitigation
Subfield: Environmental Engineering
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,137
Awards: G3054171473, Eco-Districts
OpenAlex ID: W7128957979