Microclimatic Impact of Urban Improvement Proposals in the Historic Center of Mexicali, Mexico

Abstract

In a desert climate context, the use of urban public space is limited by thermal stress caused by the high daytime temperatures naturally occurring in the region and the urban heat island effect that intensifies during the nighttime period. This research evaluates the microclimatic influence of urban design proposals in a public space in the desert environment of the Historic Center of Mexicali, Mexico, which has recently been transformed to reestablish it as a social and recreational meeting point. Three stages of analysis were established: 1) a climatic analysis through remote sensing to identify spatial thermal variations; 2) a detailed analysis of the thermal behavior of physical elements through field measurements, evaluating specific variations in air and surface temperature; and 3) a climatic evaluation of different scenarios through thermal simulation with ENVI-met to analyze various urban design strategies. Finally, the results and conclusions discuss the effectiveness of the proposed design strategies in improving the climatic behavior of the area, generating guidelines to reduce thermal stress and promote the use of public space in the analyzed context.