Influence of urban changes on ventilation paths efficiency

• Published in: Budownictwo i Architektura Vol. 24; no. 2
• Main Authors: Katarzyna Klemm, Weronika Chojna, Anna Dominika Bochenek
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lublin University of Technology 01.06.2025
• Subjects: city of Łódź; morphometric method; urban area; ventilation corridors; visual estimation method
• ISSN: 1899-0665; 2544-3275
• DOI: 10.35784/bud-arch.7013

The constantly progressing urbanisation of urban areas causes a shortage of land intended for residential development. Open corridor spaces, which often reach the central zones of cities, are becoming very attractive to development companies. At the same time, the still insufficient degree of coverage of cities with local plans contributes to the weakened protection of these areas against investment pressure. Hence the question arises – do the areas of potential corridors designated in planning documents still play such a role? The aim of the work is to determine the impact of changes in spatial development on the effectiveness of the functioning of the western part of the ventilation corridor, running along the Łódka River valley in Łódź (Poland). This area can be considered key from the point of view of shaping aerodynamic conditions, and thus thermal conditions, in the city. The assessment of the corridor's effectiveness was carried out using two methods: a visual estimation method, using data from Corine Land Cover, and a morphometric method based on data provided by the Łódź Geodesy Centre. Aerodynamic roughness length parameters were determined for 1990 and 2018, and then compared with the adopted criteria characterising ventilation corridors. The final part compares the results obtained using the adopted methods and determines the impact of changes on air flow and the efficiency of the ventilation corridor.