ADOPTING A SUSTAINABLE URBAN DESIGN TO IMPROVE THERMAL COMFORT IN AN ARID CLIMATE

Abstract

Greenery strategies and shaded pedestrian passages have become requirements for designing smart cities in developed countries. One of the most difficult challenges for designers is designing cities in hot and arid climates while maintaining a proper level of outdoor thermal comfort. The designers focus on creating a comfortable climate for people throughout the afternoon under the hot sun, particularly in countries where summer temperatures rise excessively for more than seven months per year, as in Iraq. This study compares two Baghdad cities: Haifa Street, which was built in 1984 on a Western design pattern, and the second city, which the researchers designed according to the requirements of construction in an arid climate, such as street and building orientation, aspect ratio, sky view factor, the influence of courtyards, and the role of albedo. The second city is planned to cover the same total area as the first. The results of the two cities were compared and analyzed using ENVI-met software. To conduct a comparison between the two cities on a typical summer day, two indices, PMV and Tmrt, were used. The results showed that the proposed new city design reduced Tmrt and PMV, contributing to improved thermal comfort. The proposed design reduced the Tmrt value in the model by 10.5°C in proportions of 90% of the total urban area. Furthermore, the suggested design offers superior thermal values on a typical summer day than Haifa Street.