Urban Cool Island as a sustainable passive cooling strategy of urban spaces under summer conditions in Mediterranean climate

Abstract

Rapid urbanization of cities is changing the local climate, resulting in high temperatures and rough, dense urban environments lacking in water and vegetation. Currently, public space is the object of particular attention due to the concern of improving the quality of life on which the feeling of well-being strongly depends. This study focuses on the problem of urban warming. It is interested in evaluating the effect of natural cooling by the plant cover and water in urban spaces and their microclimatic impact on the built environment during the hot period at the level of the city of Jijel with humid climate. More precisely, it aims at comparing in a simplified and synthetic way different strategies proposed in the form of scenarios by the numerical simulation software ENVI-met. Compared to the initial case, the results have confirmed that the blue and green scenarios have produced a coolness island effect and have allowed the mitigation of urban heat islands during the day.