Review of Strategies for the Geometric Creation and Population of Urban Microclimate Models

Heightened demand for larger and more accurate microclimate models for heat transfer, pollution accumulation, and wind level prediction has posed new challenges for researchers working in wind tunnels, as well as those employing computational fluid dynamics modeling. Namely, the problem is how to generate geometrically accurate and up to date models inexpensively and quickly without compromising potentially critical details. The problem is an important and growing one, as there is an increased tendency to use such models as the basis for planning permission and long-term policy decisions in urban areas. This review paper traces the recent evolution in the size and detail-level of microclimate models (both physical and numerical) and explains the difficulties of applying the existing technology traditionally adopted in virtual city model creation. Finally, the paper provides an overview of recent innovations in the geometric creation and population of microclimate models to overcome existing documented deficiencies in an absence of architectural detailing in the investigated models through use of aerial laser scanning data.