Urban microclimates:new Urban Heat Islands management (Grenoble’s city centre)

In a global warming context, urban microclimate will be the possible cause of heat waves spreading. According to the GIEC, in 2035, 2 out of 3 years will know heat waves as strong as the one we experienced in 2003. This evolution has us concerned about the operation and organisation of our current territories. A reflexion that leads us to emerging territorial endeavours, in which landscape architects have an essential role. During the high summer's heat, Grenoble’s urban microclimate is highly vulnerable. Nevertheless, the city centre is full of untapped coolness potential. The propagation and the links of thoses “urban cool islands” is a sustainable answer. The project is based on this design : an intricate freshness grid linking Grenoble’s center to bigger cool areas: the Bastille mountain and the Hoche park. A sensitive analysis of temperature in the city centre has allowed to define the most heat vulnerable spaces. This analysis was based on tools influencing the urban microclimate; water, vegetal, soil and mobility. Cool areas and cooling corridors have became tools to set up the project. For the adaptation to be noticeable, this concept need to spread in an urban agglomeration scale : this urban network can make the city more resilient.