Simulation Toolkit

The toolkit comprises a set of IT tools (GIS tools and 3D Modelling tools) aimed at evaluating the impact of climate change in cities considering the effect of urban climate factors (linked to morphology, land use and cover, building features, etc.).
The toolkit operates at different scales and phase of the UDCW methodology workflow, with particular reference to the Climate Analysis Mapping and the Post Intervention Evaluation phases. It can be used as a standalone toolkit (and its tools as standalone components for partial analyses), but provide significant additional outcomes if used
in synergy with the Facilitation toolkit.
The models are based on the elaboration of climate projections downscaled at city level to include urban microclimate conditio ns and simulate the impacts of heat waves on population, the effect of seasonal temperature trends variation on energy demand, and impacts of floods on buildings and open spaces.
The current version of the toolkit has been developed, tested and improved within several projects (UCCRN ARC3.2; UCCRN ARC3.3; H2020 CLARITY; H2020 ESPREssO; Erasmus+ UCCRN_edu, Horizon Europe KNOWING, Horizon Europe UP2030)

The UDCW Simulation Toolkit includes GIS and 3D tools to assess climate change impacts in urban areas. It supports key phases of the UDCW methodology, especially Climate Analysis Mapping and Post-Intervention Evaluation, helping visualize risks like heat, energy demand, and flooding.

Use it on its own or with the Facilitation Toolkit to combine data and participation. Each tool comes with practical steps and can be applied at different scales, from neighborhoods to entire cities.

Each tool has a clear Focus on—urban heat, energy use, or flood risk—to guide planners, communities, and public bodies in designing climate-resilient solutions.

Tools

URBAN DESIGN
CLIMATE WORKSHOP

Climate change impacts are already visible today, with extreme heat and precipitation events increasingly growing in frequency and intensity worldwide. Urban climate must be a key consideration in the planning and design of contemporary cities. Climate resilient principles need thus to be integrated in the design process as a knowledge area linked to architectural disciplines. The issue of climate resilience in urban areas requires the development of innovative design methods that can handle the complexity of the information needed to guide sustainable urban regeneration and retrofitting strategies, as well as to manage the technological and environmental solutions in a multi-scale perspective.

The UCCRN Urban Design Climate Workshop (UDCWs) aims to integrate design strategies for configuring or retrofitting compact and mixed-use eco-districts that can adapt and thrive in the changing global conditions, meet carbon-reduction goals and provide new public spaces and facilities in relation to community priorities. UCCRN UDCWs have been carried out since 2015 based on the climate-resilient design principles and methodological process introduced by the Urban Planning and Urban Design working group within the Second Assessment Report on Climate Change and Cities (ARC3.2).