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Polimetrics: the quantitative study of urban systems (and its applications to atmospheric and hydro environments)

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Abstract

The rapid urbanization of the Earth has led to highly populated cities that act as concentrated centers of anthropogenic stressors on the environment. Much of these stressors originate from nonlinear coupling between man-made urban elements (i.e., networks of engineering and socio-economic infrastructures) and the natural environment. An urban area can be treated as a system of urban elements (or elemental systems), and simple interactions between the latter may lead to complex outcomes, known as emergent properties, in the former. Emergent properties of urban systems play an important role in determining their resilience and sustainability, studies on which require an in-depth knowledge of dynamics, interdependencies and feedbacks of urban elements as well as development of quantitative holistic models to integrate such knowledge to predict the overall system response. To facilitate this demanding effort, it is proposed to initiate a new sub-discipline within the discipline of Earth System Engineering, with the portmanteau of Polimetrics, to deal with quantitative scientific aspects of urban systems. This paper discusses two examples of polimetrics related to urban fluid flows. The first deals with the urban heat island and the other with storm surges in coastal cities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Environmental Fluid Dynamics, Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-9809, USA

    H. J. S. Fernando

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  1. H. J. S. Fernando
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Correspondence to H. J. S. Fernando.

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Etymology: Greek (poli – city; metrikē – by measure).

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Fernando, H.J.S. Polimetrics: the quantitative study of urban systems (and its applications to atmospheric and hydro environments). Environ Fluid Mech 8, 397–409 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10652-008-9116-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10652-008-9116-1

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