Study on mitigation measures for outdoor thermal environment on present urban blocks in Tokyo using coupled simulation

The heat island phenomenon and degradation of the urban thermal environmental have become serious problems in Japan. In order to improve the outdoor thermal environment, it is necessary to understand quantitatively the effects of various measures. In this paper, the authors have performed coupled simulations of convection, radiation and conduction to evaluate the outdoor thermal environment over different urban blocks – Ōtemachi as representative of a high-rise area and Kyobashi as a mid-rise area in Tokyo, Japan – to compare the effects of measures such as the heat release point and means of air-conditioning, greening, high surface albedo, and traffic volume. The results showed that the effectiveness of moderation countermeasures differed according to the configuration of the urban blocks.