Modeling and simulating urban afforestation: an alternative for urban climate change mitigation

Abstract

In this work we show numerical simulations of the urban tree canopy growth. The study area is a defined region located in Boca del Río Veracruz, Mexico. An unstructured cellular automata model is implemented in an OpenMP C++ code; geographical information data is included and visualizations are achieved by the use of Phyton. We run our model in time and report the changes in temperatures due to shade canopy. We also estimate the reduction in home electrical energy consumption. Therefore, we conclude that a properly implemented urban afforestation program can be a valuable alternative for climate urban change mitigation and reduction of electrical power consumption.