Urban Microclimates Workshop
Making Australian Cities Cooler and Greener
A Joint CRC Low Carbon Living & CRC for Water Sensitive Cities
Workshop on Urban Micro-Climates and Adaptive Urban Design
21-22 March 2016, Hawthorn Arts Centre, Melbourne
Urban Microclimates Workshop
Session 1
Chair: Professor Peter Newton, Research Leader,
CRC Low Carbon Living
Welcome
Workshop Objectives:
• Identify the emerging evidence and tools for policy and practice related to potential
urban planning & design interventions for greening & cooling Australian cities
in an era of urban intensification (suburban to ‘urban’) and changing climate
• Examine the resilience of people, buildings, streetscapes, open spaces (private, public) and
urban infrastructures to extreme heat events
• Identify knowledge gaps, need for new tools, opportunities for research collaboration
• Develop key messages for Minister Greg Hunt (Environment) and Cities Taskforce on
what to do/what not to do in making cities more adaptive to a changing climate
• Celebrate the research of the 2 ‘urban’ CRCs on the topic of urban microclimates
(13 PhDs presenting….terrific result !)
Urban Microclimates Workshop
….......how close are we to
establishing rule-like statements
linking elements of the built
environment
(at different spatial scales) to
microclimatic elements (temperature,
humidity, wind, sunshine etc)
Inputs to:
• Planning guidelines…for more
liveable, sustainable &
productive cities
• Urban design principles for
better ‘place-making’ ; including
assessment models for
buildings, streets, precincts…
• Health alerts
Urban Microclimates Workshop
What are the most eco-efficient (environmentally effective & economically
affordable) means for modifying a built environment to achieve greater resilience
to extreme events such as heatwaves?
Source: The Royal Society (2014) Resilience to Extreme Weather
Urban Microclimates Workshop
Dual Objective: Climate Change Mitigation + Adaptation
Source: Ekelund (2016)
Urban Microclimates Workshop
15