ESMA 781 Modeling Urban Systems Energy Flow
Using numerical modeling, this course analyzes the challenges that cities will face and strategies they can use to mitigate the negative environmental impacts of energy use in the built environment. A primary focus of the course is the study of energy flows in the urban environment. The scale of the investigation ranges from individual buildings to blocks/districts to cities. Students will learn to use model-based techniques (detailed and simplified) to predict and modify energy use and urban microclimate. Emphasis will be on understanding and modeling the strong interaction, in dense urban settings, between buildings, vegetation, paved roads and the urban microclimate. The mode and intensity of this interaction can significantly impact energy use and thermal comfort. These microclimatic effects include shading of neighboring buildings, long-wave radiation, wind flow patterns and urban heat island (UHI). Students are expected to be able to (or be willing to learn to) use various software tools such as Rhinoceros/Grasshopper and MATLAB. Limited tutorial sessions will be offered.