Bioclimatic Analysis of Public Roads in the City of Manaus Through Computational Simulation

Abstract

The urban expansion of the city of Manaus not only transformed its economy, but also changed its urban landscape. Manaus is characterized by a humid tropical monsoon climate. It is situated in the middle of a tropical forest, but has little urban afforestation. The lack of this afforestation contributes to the aggravation of thermal discomfort and enables the formation of urban heat islands. The objective is to present a comparative bioclimatic analysis of the efficiency of the afforestation in stretches of different public roads of the city. The computational simulation methodology will be used through the ENVI-met software. Three scenarios were modeled: always considering the right of way and buildings present around three main roads of the city. In relation to afforestation, they show different situations; zero, medium and abundant afforestation. The purpose explored the impacts generated by urbanization in the microclimate. In addition to the main method, a test method will be introduced, by means of the thermometer (Minipa/MT-350), in an introductory way, emphasizing the solar variations and thermal sensations through an on-site survey. Given the analysis of the current situation, it is possible to understand the effective condition of the thermal comfort of the roads, considering the improvement that afforestation causes in the study areas. It is emphasized that the gain of comfort and the reduction of the formation of the heat islands consequently provide to the population more quality of life.