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URBAN CANYONS. The phrase brings to mind images of city streets lined with skyscrapers and either raging winds funneling through narrow passageways or excessive heat that cannot escape. Architects and city planners pay close attention to these phenomena, and try to assess the role that building geometries and sitings play on the local climate. While the weather can be used to augment the internal HVAC system of a building, excessive wind can create hazards for passersby and be responsible for spreading the exhaust from automobiles and smokestacks to more distant areas. In this issue, we focus on weather and its impact on buildings and their surroundings in a series of articles.