The increase in industrial and housing developments have affected the total number of urban constructions and thereby negatively impacted the local environment. Examining this process we see how man has the ability to change local climate by altering his habitat. We must concern ourselves with this and allow regulations on energy consumption, environmental luxuries as well as urban comfort. This paper supports this phenomenon by examining the environmental comfort conditions in the Ribeira quarter, which holds the history of the birth of Natal/RN, using methods that propose bioclimatic analysis, as tools for urban planning - Katzschner (1997), Oliveira (1985) and Bustos Romero (2001). The findings support our concerns relating to the negative impacts of man's urban expansion and the desperately needed environmental regulations that must be considered in the preservation and revitalization of the Historical Center.
Bioclimatic Analysis; Historical Center; Urban Comfort
