Breaking down climate change, a neighborhood at a time
Source: https://www.oakridger.com/
In a 2020 study using data on ORNL’s campus and a Chicago neighborhood, for example, Allen-Dumas and her co-authors used computer simulations to project how different proposed developments would affect the building site’s microclimate. They learned that, depending on variables such as building design, land use and population density, some scenarios would lead to notably warmer microclimates. What’s more, those effects extended beyond the development’s boundaries and into the surrounding area. Buildings consume three-quars of the electricity used in the United States, so being able to assess the effect of their shapes and sizes could help cities better mitigate climate change.