Effect of Aspect Ratio and Symmetrical Distribution on Urban Design in Baghdad City, and the Impact of Greenery Strategies on improving Outdoor Thermal Comfort

Abstract

The concept of thermal comfort relies on the knowledge and content of the pedestrians, particularly in an arid climate. This work concentrates on the possible methods to improve the pedestrian thermal comfort. There are inadequate investigations researches carried out on the outdoor thermal comfort in a desert climate. The researches on enhancing outdoor thermal comfort are nearly nonexistent in cities like Baghdad. Baghdad has a sophisticated urban fabric with contemporary buildings, traditional houses. This work aims at investigating possible strategies to verify how pedestrian comfort is influenced by the constructions design choices, and how vegetation contributes to enhancing the outdoor thermal comfort. The evaluation was performed by using ENVI-met on the hottest day in summer. ENVI-met represents buildings design and calculates the impact on the vegetation on outdoor thermal comfort. We adopted PMV indices to evaluate the outdoor thermal comfort. This work aims to design cities in an arid climate and to maintain a convenient level of thermal comfort. Also, how to perform a proper climate of pedestrians during the daytime beneath the burning sun, particularly in cities with an extreme rise in summer temperatures and for numerous months, as in Baghdad. The research exhibits a proposal area design in an arid climate based on the architectural and implementation standards to increase the pedestrians thermal comfort requirements and how the urban factors such as the aspect ratio, symmetrical distribution, and the green strategies are essential factors that urban designer may be taken into account, mostly for design new urban area in an arid climate.