Heat Mitigation Strategies in Tropical Cities: Proposals for a Fourth-generation Knowledge-based Innovation Territory

Abstract

Climate change has significantly strained the relationship between the built environment and nature. The tropical belt will be particularly affected by rising temperatures and the intensification of the urban heat island effect, requiring climate-specific mitigation strategies to be integrated into urban design. However, the literature addresses this issue in a limited manner, with few studies focusing on tropical climates while also considering the feasibility of the proposed solutions. Through literature review and exploratory studies, heat mitigation strategies for tropical cities are systematized, addressing theoretical, practical, and design-oriented aspects. The resulting guidelines are applicable to urban design and directed toward the International Hub for Sustainable Development (HIDS), a fourth-generation innovation district planned for the Campinas-SP region, where the campus of the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) is located. The research highlights that the complexity of the urban fabric and its transformation process make the implementation of such strategies dependent not only on their technical performance but also on the coordinated action of multiple agents involved in urban transformation. The result is a set of recommendations for urban design adapted to future climate conditions, grounded in theory and practices observed in pioneering contexts such as Singapore.