Lab2PT — Reports and Dissertations
Reports and Dissertations
The influence of climate and urban morphology on tourism activity in the Porto Metropolitan Area: perceptions and simulation of the bioclimatic comfort of tourists
PhD Thesis
In recent years, those who create strategies and policies for urban tourist destinations have been increasingly concerned with the greater or lesser capacity to enjoy public space. Furthermore, the growth of urban areas on a global scale has caused significant changes in the (micro)climate, due to the increase in impermeable surfaces, the anthropogenic heat generated by human activities and the change in air circulation. Taking into account the increasing demands of tourists and residents and the need to improve cities in the face of climate change, the option is to design new measures and action solutions. However, the lack of quality of the input data or their (total) absence, as well as their low spatial resolution, are common. The inadequacy of structures for sharing information is also noted, which significantly limits planning and adaptation actions. This investigation aims to identify the main methods of analysis to monitor the current ability to enjoy tourism based on the integration of objective and subjective domains; and contribute to the definition of action plans which seek to mitigate and adapt the tourism sector to climate change, in the medium and long-term. To assess the validity of these assumptions, the Porto Metropolitan Area, in general, and the municipality of Porto, in particular, were used as case studies. In this investigation, different methods of information and units of analysis were combined, based on a meso approach and local scale for: (i) the identification of critical areas, in an office analysis based essentially on Big Data (i.e., Flickr photographs, AirBnB accommodation and MODIS and LANDSAT satellite imagery); (ii) the assessment of the comfort level for enjoyment in critical areas with high tourist potential through field data collection; and (iii) the identification of prioritization actions and measures to maintain tourism attractiveness in view of climate change, in the medium and long-term. This research highlights the need for more detailed information, the weak interaction between stakeholders and the limitation of resources. Thus, considering that Porto is a destination with a good climate for tourism, and committed to mitigating the effects of climate change, the proposed methodological triangulation allows to outline some measures with predictable action in the short, medium and long-term. Finally, this study aims to make some contributions at national and international level, with the likelihood of the methodological approach adopted to be replicated in other geographical areas, taking into account the particularities of each territory under analysis.
Download: https://hdl.handle.net/1822/77584
Hélder Lopes
2022
Paula Remoaldo Francisco Martín-Vide Vítor Ribeiro
Geografia e Planeamento Regional
Climate Change Porto Metropolitan Area Thermal Comfort Objective and Subjective Dimensions Urban Tourism