Analysing impacts of urban morphological variables and density on outdoor microclimate for tropical cities: A review and a framework proposal for future research directions

Banerjee, Shreya; Y, Graces Ching N.; Yik, Sin Kang; Dzyuban, Yuliya; Crank, Peter J.; Yi, Rachel Pek Xin; Chow, Winston

doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2022.109646

Cited by 28 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Some studies have considered assessing thermal comfort on the street level. However, in these studies, the streets are analyzed as singular locations rather than on the microscale of individual streets (Banerjee et al, 2022;Kotharkar et al, 2019;Manavvi & Rajasekar, 2020). Very few studies have assessed PTC on sidewalks and the impact of urban geometry and microclimate on pedestrians while walking (Chidambaranath & Bitossi, 2018;Deevi & Chundeli, 2020).…”

Section: Research Gapmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing pedestrian thermal comfort to improve walkability in the urban tropical environment of Nagpur city

Mohite,

Surawar

2024

Geographica Pannonica

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Walking can be an efficient and sustainable mode of transportation for "last mile" connectivity. However, the willingness to walk largely depends on the availability of infrastructure, safety, and comfort. Improving thermal comfort on streets connected to transit stations is crucial for encouraging walking and public transit use. This study assesses seasonal and spatiotemporal variations in pedestrian thermal comfort (PTC) on an N-S-oriented street in Nagpur (India). Thermal walk surveys simultaneously monitored environmental conditions and human thermal perception (thermal sensation vote-TSV). The findings revealed that urban geometry significantly influences PTC and TSV, and the level of influence varied spatiotemporally in both seasons. This study shows the relationship between urban street geometry, microclimate, and PTC, emphasizing the necessity of a multidimensional assessment approach.

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Section: Research Gapmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing pedestrian thermal comfort to improve walkability in the urban tropical environment of Nagpur city

Mohite,

Surawar

2024

Geographica Pannonica

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“…Given that urban morphology-defined as "mass, density, and orientation of building stocks" [39]-strongly impacts natural ventilation, computational fluid dynamic simulations have been widely and increasingly used to investigate its effect on outdoor thermal comfort. In order to fully consider the many variables involved, assessment methods have evolved in the years from bidimensional indicators (e.g., building density or floor-to-area ratio) to three-dimensional ones (e.g., building volume, height, shape) [40][41][42].…”

Section: Heat Stress In Dense Urban Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Outdoor Microclimate in Courtyard Buildings: Impact of Building Perimeter Configuration and Tree Density

Marchi,

Gaspari,

Fabbri

2023

Buildings

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As the effects of climate change and urbanisation intensify, liveability and comfort in outdoor spaces decrease. Because of large spaces exposed to solar radiation and low crossing of airflows, courtyard buildings are extremely vulnerable in this regard. However, there are significant gaps in the literature on outdoor comfort in courtyards, especially regarding the effect of border configuration (including gap position and features), as well that of tree density. The study proposes a methodology—to be used during preliminary design—to compare the effect of alternative scenarios for courtyard buildings on outdoor microclimate, varying both the building perimeter configuration and courtyard vegetation layout. A matrix is set to combine the two variables and select relevant scenarios, which are then simulated in ENVI-met focusing on air temperature, wind speed and physiological equivalent temperature (PET). A case study in Bologna, Italy (humid subtropical climate) is presented as an example of the implementation. The resulting outdoor microclimate maps and frequency diagrams are compared and discussed. It emerges that both variables have a role in outdoor comfort: while gap configuration affects air temperature more (up to a difference of 1 °C), tree density impacts PET by up to 2 °C difference. The methodology can be replicated in several other contexts to support the optimisation of courtyard building design from the early stages.

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“…Especially since the turn of the millennium, extreme weather events, including heat, have increased significantly and have become an important topic for urban development. Since then, research on climate adaptation and mitigation strategies in cities has continuously grown [10,11,12,13,14,15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban morphology as a key parameter for mitigating urban heat? – A literature review

Schmidt

2024

IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci.

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More frequent and intense heat waves, especially in urban centers, represent a growing challenge for urban designers and building planners. In the last five years, extensive research has been undertaken on the relation between urban form, including density, and urban heat phenomena. Dense urban configurations are often considered central drivers of hot microclimates. However, less dense cities easily cause other ecological (e.g. land consumption), functional (public mobility), and socioeconomic (social diversity) problems. Consequently, the current panoply of recommended heat mitigation and sustainability measures constitutes an unclear basis for strategic planning decisions. Thus, this study examines the literature on urban morphology in relation to urban heat events. Around 800 scientific articles and studies are categorized regarding the applied methodology, the studied geographic location, the observed urban form parameters, and the examined thermal parameter. Most identified literature uses traditional field measurement, remote sensing, numerical simulation, or a combination. Air temperature and land surface temperature are the most observed thermal parameters, while the growing number of studies that focus on human outdoor thermal comfort is highly relevant for effective heat mitigation and adaptation. This study suggests that from a scientific point of view, urban morphology measures do not principally carry a paramount role in heat mitigation compared to other aspects, such as vegetation or materialization. Current planning approaches for climate-resilient cities are highly case-specific, where no generally applicable rules or effective recipes regarding urban built form are available.

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Analysing impacts of urban morphological variables and density on outdoor microclimate for tropical cities: A review and a framework proposal for future research directions

Cited by 28 publications

References 60 publications

Assessing pedestrian thermal comfort to improve walkability in the urban tropical environment of Nagpur city

Assessing pedestrian thermal comfort to improve walkability in the urban tropical environment of Nagpur city

Outdoor Microclimate in Courtyard Buildings: Impact of Building Perimeter Configuration and Tree Density

Urban morphology as a key parameter for mitigating urban heat? – A literature review

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