‘Fit for Purpose’ Urban Hear Island Effect Study Methodology for Indian Cities (2023)
Authors: Rajan Rawal, Yash Shukla, Subham Das, Tej Chavda, Rahul Agnihotri, Lily Riahi, Benjamin Hic Abstract:
The paper acknowledges that Urban Heat Island Effect (UHIE) occurs due to urbanization impacting earth surface characteristics, changes in the vegetation profile within urban regions, and increased anthropogenic heat. Without a common agreed-upon methodology with the various objectives that cities wish to accomplish, Indian cities are adopting
methods to study UHIE that do not help them meet the original objectives and are often found to be less scientific. This paper proposes a common agreeable methodology and underpins its argument on two frameworks, ‘Fit for the Purpose’ and ‘Level of Details,’ making it easy to adopt. Such efforts are expected to help cities account for UHIE assessment with objectives they define with the available level of resources. The paper relies on a systematic literature review and considers the ground realities to propose the methodology. The framework could be one of a kind to be adopted in a country, helping cities evaluate their context and solution on the same platform. It aims to balance
Keyword: Urban Heat Island Effect, Level of Details, Fit for Purpose, Heat Action Plan, Outdoor Thermal Comfort. Presented at: Energise 2023, at Goa
Supported by:
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Govt. of India, Gujarat Energy Development Agency, U.S. Agency for International Development iNDEXTb (Industrial Extension Bureau) Govt. of Gujarat, Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation, New Delhi
