If you are hot right now, consider that you have not seen anything yet. Thermometers will show much higher temperatures in the coming years. How are we going to live in the city then?
In 2014, scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) unanimously announced in response to the publication of their fifth report that signs of global warming will very soon be felt and have serious consequences. These include floods, droughts, scorching heat, as well as significant increases in average temperatures around the world, accompanied by sweltering heat during the summer.
In 2018, climate scientist Jean Jouzel, author of a report on France's climate in the 21st century, argued that temperatures could reach 50 ° C in 2050 over a large area of the country. This is an unimaginable situation. Particularly alarming is the fact that some of the country's vulnerable population is being hit. We are talking about the elderly and sick people, disabled people, young children, pregnant women who do not tolerate heat very well. We still remember the aftermath of the 2003 heatwave that swept across Europe and killed 15,000 people in France.
Added to this is another worrying factor. According to UN forecasts, in 2050, the world's population will be 9.8 billion people, the vast majority of whom will live in megacities. This situation will lead to even greater air pollution than now. To cope with extreme temperatures, without further deteriorating the climate situation and, therefore, without the massive use of air conditioning systems, the city is forced to adapt to the prevailing and inevitable process. And this is exactly what is happening now.
Ecological architecture and bioconditioners
Several architects foresaw this problem. Vincent Caillebaut, a pioneer of sustainable architecture, designs his designs to be both sustainable and efficient at absorbing heat, decomposing CO2 and purifying the air. Commissioned by the Paris municipality, the architect developed a project to improve the city's ecology by 2050. The architect himself explains that “due to lack of space, Parisian gardens will no longer be laid out around buildings, and the buildings themselves will be converted into gardens. Greening buildings and transforming the city into a garden will be very effective in combating the urban heat island effect and will create a bio-climate for our city, the temperature of which will increase by two degrees for the next thirty-five years."
Greening city buildings and streets will be able to beat the city from overheating, creating zones of freshness in public spaces and reoxygenating the air. Thus, the city remains livable and it will be possible to breathe freely in it, even in extreme heat. Homes with zero energy consumption will prevent the greenhouse effect from increasing. The Paris municipality also plans to increase the number of sprinklers and water sources, build fountains so everyone can cool off when it gets very hot.
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In addition, new buildings can benefit from intelligent and innovative use of wind, which can lead to very interesting thermal management results. For example, climatology company Meteodyn has developed Urbawind software that simulates wind movement in a city. In this way, the location of the building, the size and position of the windows can be used to get the most out of the wind and ensure efficient air movement in the living space by cooling it down by a few degrees.
There is another interesting solution. Several cities in the United States use surface reflectivity, also called albedo. For example, in Los Angeles, some roads are covered with white instead of the traditional black asphalt. Thus, the ground temperature drops by 10 ° C in some places, which also affects buildings. As Erwan Cordeau, who is responsible for climate, air and energy research at the Ile-de-France Institute for Planning and Development, says: “Thanks to the strong albedo, the energy generated by solar radiation is sent back to the sky immediately, so the energy will not accumulate in the cover itself."
This coating method is also suitable for building roofs. By painting the roofs of buildings white, you can lower the temperature in houses by a few degrees. Simple thermal regulation, environmentally friendly and affordable for everyone.
Arnaud Pagès