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Explain How Urban Layout and Structure Affect Winds

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Submitted By fazeelm123
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The surface area of cities is uneven due to the varying height of the buildings. Buildings in general exert a powerful frictional drag on air moving over and around them. This creates turbulence, giving rapid and abrupt changes in both wind direction and speed. Average wind speeds are lower in cities than in the surrounding areas and they are also lower in city centres than in suburbs. High rise buildings may slow down air movement but they also channel air into the canyons between them.
Winds are therefore affected by the size and shape of buildings. For a single building, air is displaced upwards and around the sides of the building and is also pushed downwards in the lee of the structure. On the windward side, the air will push against the wall on this side with relatively high pressures. As the air flows around the sides of the building it becomes separated from the walls and roof and sets up suction in these areas. On the windward side the overpressure, which increases with height, causes a descending flow which forms a vortex when it reaches the ground and sweeps around the windward corners.
This vortex is considerably increased if there is a small building to windward. In the lee of the building there is a zone of lower pressure, causing vortices behind it. If two separate buildings allow airflow between them, then the movement may be subject to the Venturi effect in which the pressure within the gap causes the wind to pick up speed and reach high velocities. Usually buildings are part of a group and the disturbance to the airflow depends upon the height of the buildings and the spacing between them. If they are widely spaced, each building acts as an isolated block, but if they are closer, the wake of each building interferes with the airflow around the next structure and this produces a very complex pattern of airflow. Usually buildings are part of a group and the disturbance to the airflow depends upon the height of the buildings and the spacing between them. If they are widely spaced, each building acts as an isolated block, but if they are closer, the wake of each building interferes with the airflow around the next structure and this produces a very complex pattern of airflow.

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