Urban Climates is the first full synthesis of modern scientific and applied research on urban climates. The book begins with an outline of what constitutes an urban ecosystem. It develops a comprehensive terminology for the subject using scale and surface classification as key constructs. It explains the physical principles governing the creation of distinct urban climates, such as airflow around buildings, the heat island, precipitation modification and air pollution, and it then illustrates how this knowledge can be applied to moderate the undesirable consequences of urban development and help create more sustainable and resilient cities. With urban climate science now a fully-fledged field, this timely book fulfills the need to bring together the disparate parts of climate research on cities into a coherent framework. It is an ideal resource for students and researchers in fields such as climatology, urban hydrology, air quality, environmental engineering and urban design.

The editors intend that this book conveys the remarkable variety and fundamental importance of the late Helmut E. Landsberg's many contributions to the science of climatology and its practice over a very productive 55-year career. We thank the distinguished authors for their contributions. We also thank Corinne Preston and Charlene Mann for their invaluable word-processing assistance and preparation of camera-ready copy. Finally, we thank Joshua Holland for permission to reproduce his portrait of Landsberg, and Jeanne Moody for preparation of the index. F. Baer N. L. Canfield J. M. Mitchell Editors vii CONTRmUTORS Ferdinand Baer, Department of Meteorology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA Norman L. Canfield, Department of Meteorology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA Dennis M. Driscoll, Department of Meteorology, Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas, USA William H. Haggard, Climatological Consulting Corporation, Asheville, North Carolina, USA David M. Ludlum, Founding Editor, Weatherwise, Princeton, New Jersey, USA Thomas F. Malone, St. Joseph College, West Hartford, Connecticut, USA J. Murray Mitchell, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (retired), McLean, Virginia, USA Timothy R. Oke, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Joseph Smagorinsky, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (retired), Princeton, New Jersey, USA Hessam Taba, World Meteorological Organization (retired), Geneva, Switzerland Morley Thomas, Atmospheric Environment Service (retired), Downsview, Ontario, Canada. IX OVERVIEW Ferdinand Baer Helmut E.