Titre : Are today topographic data suitable for urban climate study? 

Auteurs : Anne Ruas
, Florence Jacquinod
, Zohra Mhedhbi
, Florian Betou,  

Revue : Urban Risks 

Numéro : Issue 1 

Volume : 8 

Date : 2025/04/17 

DOI : 10.21494/ISTE.OP.2025.1279 

ISSN : 2516-1857 

Résumé : Climate change is shaking up research agendas and urban planning priorities. A number of events, including floods and heatwaves, are disrupting metropolitan areas. Urban redevelopment to meet these challenges is costly and takes time. Numerical simulation is a great tool for studying urban development scenarios and the effectiveness of development solutions. Numerical models of the urban climate exist and are gradually being improved by the scientific community. These models are parameterised, among other things, by geographical data describing mineral surfaces (buildings, asphalt floors), non-mineral surfaces (water surfaces, herbaceous soils, bare permeable soils) and tree canopies. In this article we study the suitability of existing topographic data for parameterising climate models. We begin by recalling the importance of database specifications for understanding the gap between the real world and the content of databases. We then describe strategies for constructing land cover data suitable for studying the urban climate using national reference systems and in the absence of such data. Finally, we consider the potential contribution of very large-scale data, such as BIM, to the study of urban climates. In conclusion, we propose an improvement in the specifications of national geodatabases to better meet the needs of urban planning in the context of climate change. 

Éditeur : ISTE OpenScience