Comfort In Urban Spaces Research Articles

Assessing diurnal land surface temperature variations across landcover and local climate zones: Implications for urban planning and mitigation strategies on socio-economic factors

Rising temperatures and rapid urbanization globally reinforce the need to understand urban climates. We investigated the influence of land cover and local climate zones (LCZs) on diurnal land surface temperature (LST) in various seasons in greater Delhi region, India, and their implications on socio-economic factors. Day LST was the highest in the summer and night LST in the monsoon, which also had the lowest diurnal differences in LST. Higher height and density of built-up features contributed to greater heat at night. During the day, open built-up and vegetated areas experienced relatively less heat than their compact equivalents. The lowest diurnal difference was in medium height compact urban zones and tall vegetation. Social inequity in access to urban cooling was indicated by large low-income and heat-vulnerable populations inhabiting the hottest LCZs. This research highlighted that even in semi-arid and subtropical climates, spatial planning policy should consider both the seasonality and diurnal differences in temperature as much as appropriate morphologies for design of thermally comfortable and climate resilient urban spaces. These policies should address the evidenced social inequities in heat exposure to reduce the adverse health impacts on vulnerable groups and therefore contribute to wider societal and economic benefits of healthier populations.

Determination of outdoor thermal comfort thresholds for hot and semi-arid climates: A field study of residential neighbourhoods in Jaipur city

Outdoor thermal comfort (OTC) plays a vital role in enhancing the livability and well-being of urban residents, making it an essential area of research, particularly in the context of climate change. However, few studies have specifically focused on hot and semi-arid regions, especially within residential environments. This study seeks to address this gap by assessing OTC in various residential areas classified as Local Climate Zones (LCZs), ensuring a diverse range of survey locations to evaluate people's comfort and stress levels. Using the Thermal Sensation Vote (TSV) index, the study calibrated the Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET) scale for hot and semi-arid climates. In Jaipur, micrometeorological data was monitored alongside thermal perceptions, resulting in 2,428 valid responses gathered during both summer and winter seasons, between 09:00 and 21:00 h, when outdoor activity is common. The analysis revealed that microclimate parameters significantly influence thermal sensations in outdoor environments. Respondents showed high tolerance levels during summer, with variations in thermoneutrality, acceptability, preferences, and comfort across different built typologies. The threshold values identified in this study offer valuable insights for urban planners and designers, enabling them to enhance outdoor thermal comfort during the planning stages, ultimately creating more comfortable and livable urban spaces for residents.

РАЗРАБОТКА БАЗОВЫХ ПОДХОДОВ К ПРИВЛЕЧЕНИЮ И УДЕРЖАНИЮ КАДРОВ В ГОРОДАХ НАУКИ И ВЫСОКИХ ТЕХНОЛОГИЙ

In modern Russia, the problem of technological sovereignty and import substitution of high-tech products is acute. To solve the problems set by the Russian government, it is necessary to launch the production of a wide range of high-tech products as soon as possible. The implementation of the plans is impossible without solving the key tasks of introducing modern technological equipment and increasing human resources. At the moment, a prompt solution to these problems is required, and the previously developed and adopted territorial development strategies assume a long-term perspective. The main scientific organizations and high-tech businesses are located in large regional centers, as well as in small towns with high scientific and technological potential. In large regional centers, a scientific and technological ecosystem has historically been formed, allowing for the creation of conditions for the development of high technologies and scientific research. The situation is more complex in small core cities with pronounced scientific and technological specialization in centers of scientific and technological leadership. At the present stage, the main problem in the development of such cities is attracting and retaining highly qualified personnel. It is necessary to take into account the fact that attracting and retaining specialists are two related processes, but different in essence. The first is characterized by the migration activity of the population, the second - by satisfaction with living in the territory and working conditions. Most often, the factors influencing these processes have common directions, but differ from each other in their characteristics and content. When deciding on a place of work, a specialist evaluates the proposed conditions that are related to his expectations. When retaining specialists, realities are compared with the expectations that were when hired. If they do not comply, the specialist leaves the place of work. In this regard, it is important for the management of the territory and organizations to minimize the differences between expectations and the actual state of the labor and urban environment in order to retain high-level specialists. The work examines the main factors influencing and allowing to solve the problems of attracting and retaining talented youth and highly professional specialists in cities with high scientific and technological potential, taking into account modern realities and requirements. Research shows that the main factor ensuring the attraction of talented youth is the availability of high wages. It is a necessary but not sufficient condition for their retention. Additional factors play an important role in retaining specialists, including modern sociocultural and comfortable urban space, which includes various aspects of the lives of specialists and their families.

The thermal perception of outdoor urban spaces in a hot arid climate: A structural equation modelling (SEM) approach

Human thermal comfort is linked to multi-sensory attributes and psychological cognition besides the influence of prominent meteorological parameters. To date, even the most advanced thermal comfort models like UTCI consider the interaction between human and external surroundings to be a heat transfer problem applying thermodynamic equations in the derivation behind thermal comfort indices. Machine learning (ML) models offer the advantage of improving the accuracy of predictor variable, but they fail to determine the relationship between the independent variables and data-driven prediction models. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), an advanced modelling technique, can expose all hidden relationships among variables using latent variables while not being data-driven like ML. This study aimed to develop a structural framework which systematically explains these relationships and quantify the effects of 24 variables on outdoor thermal comfort using SEM due to its ability to represents the response of the dependent variable to a unit change in an explanatory variable. The method employed 635 structured interviews, observations, and wide-ranging micrometeorological measurements conducted concurrently in three Pedestrianized urban alleys in Cairo. The model statistically confirmed the hypothesis that overall thermal comfort in urban spaces is significantly influenced by multiple factors. Of these, background microclimatic conditions had the greatest relevance and certain urban features the least. 1 unit increase microclimate leads to a change in thermal comfort by 0.423 and 0.349 in summer and winter, respectively. In terms of thermal perception, the model shows that individuals are willing to tolerate a wider range if certain urban features are present such as shaded seating opportunities. These outcomes may aid to provide important guidance for urban designers to enhance thermal perception in urban streets.

Co-designing safe and sustainable darkness for northern urban places

The technological development, quantitative increase and qualitative design of urban lighting have succeeded in improving the safety and comfort of urban spaces. In this context, dark and dimly lit places appear as undesirable, even dangerous. However, the disadvantages of overlighting are increasingly being identified. On the other hand, darkness has well-being effects and aesthetic values in urban environments. The Safe and Sustainable Darkness project studies the frameworks for dimmer urban lighting: how to find room for lower lighting levels and darker places, respecting the diverse use of spaces and the values and experiences of city residents. In the article, we present participatory process for design and implementation of safe and sustainable urban darkness. The expertise and understanding of two different groups is of interest. Interviews of various professionals in the city organization reveal how illuminated and un-illuminated places are perceived from an administrative perspective. Inhabitants and users of urban space share their insight of the meanings, potential and context of the existing and future dark places. By combining the research material from interviews, crowdsourcing, workshops and evaluated pilot installation, we propose a co-design methodology to create enjoyable dimly lit and un-illuminated urban spaces.

METHODS OF APPLYING THE ENVIRONMENTAL APPROACH IN ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN IN MODERN RESIDENTIAL COMPLEXES

Designing the environment and landscapes related to human life requires, on the one hand, taking into account the values and potential of the environment, and on the other hand, taking into account human needs. Such environmental design must be carried out persistently through interaction and balance with the environment. The purpose of this study was to propose strategies for applying an ecological ap- proach to architectural design in modern residential complexes The research method is descriptive, analytical and applied in nature. Carrying out this research using both field and documentary methods, data collection, analysis and integration were carried out. In order to identify Weaknesses and internal weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats, we used a SWOT analysis model, identifying the most preferred design strategies, as well as integrating the land- scapes of the external and internal environment using the QSPM matrix. The results showed that the most preferred strategy for designing open areas and landscapes, taking into account environmental vision and improving visual quality, is the approach of spatial and visual continuation with the internal atmosphere of residential complexes. At the present stage, the state of the environment is deteriorating in large cities around the world and for several decades architectural communities around the world have been paying special attention to the environmental aspects of design and construction in order to create comfortable and sustainable urban spaces that support a favorable socio-ecological microclimate.

Cultural soundscape as intangible or tangible cultural heritage

Soundscape is a collection of sounds that individuals feel and understand in the context of a built environment. The soundscape is often associated with audial comfort in urban spaces. Nevertheless, soundscape investigation in historical areas requires different parameters. Sound is comprehended not only from the sound object and the sound wave per se but also from its meaning and identity representation of the cultural heritage area. Therefore, this paper examines soundscape studies in historic areas to explain cultural soundscapes as tangible or intangible cultural heritage. The author interprets the findings from the cultural soundscape research group to become a theoretical and conceptual explanation of the existing phenomenon. Based on observations in urban kampungs in Yogyakarta-Indonesia, namely Musikanan, Sayidan, and Pujokusuman, a cultural soundscape exists as a collection of sounds with a significant identity, meaning and spatial forming values which show the cultural image of a location. This preliminary study also demonstrates the significance of the soundscape in evaluating the intangible elements of urban place experience. The conception of a cultural soundscape is advantageous in providing research directions for intangible cultural heritage in Indonesia. Keywords: cultural soundscape, historic areas, intangible/tangible cultural heritage, urban kampung, Yogyakarta

КОМПЛЕКСНИЙ АНАЛІЗ ТА ОЦІНКА ТЕРИТОРІЙ МІСТА ЯК ПЕРШОЧЕРГОВЕ ВИЗНАЧЕННЯ ПОТРЕБ ДЛЯ ФОРМУВАННЯ КОМФОРТНОГО ТА БЕЗПЕЧНОГО МІСЬКОГО ПРОСТОРУ

The formation of urban space that is comfortable and safe for its users is the highest goal of modern urban planning science. After analysing existing planning practices, it was found that the primary prerequisite for the formation of urban space is to determine the needs of the area, which are established after comprehensive analyses and assessment of the territories. The needs determine the direction of their development. This paper reviews the existing methods of analysis and assessment of territories and identifies their characteristic features that require analysis and assessment to establish clearer actions to improve the space. This article investigates the issue of comprehensive analysis and assessment of urban areas and their impact on the formation, reform and reconstruction of urban space. The purpose of this study was to systematize knowledge on the analysis and assessment of urban areas. Based on the identified problems, the prerequisites for the formation of a comfortable urban space for all levels of needs of its residents and users are established. In a modern city, many processes take place simultaneously, which affect the functional division of territories in accordance with the dominant activities on them. Formulating clear urban planning tasks helps to: preserve the positive and change the negative characteristics of urban space, take into account the views of local residents and space users, analyse investment opportunities, primarily to understand the material prospects of the area. A comprehensive analysis and assessment of the city's territories allows identifying problems or conflict situations in the urban space that negatively affect its functioning, development and comfort. Usually, the definition of city comfort is defined as a separate assessment criterion, but in the author's opinion, it is the formation of a comfortable urban space that is the main task for urbanists, which includes many criteria that ensure the safety, environmental friendliness, identity and modernity of the space in accordance with the needs of the local community. As a result of the research, it was found that supplementing the existing practices and methods of analyzing and assessing urban space in accordance with the current needs of urban planning would allow for a better and more relevant formation of the urban space that is needed by the resident and its user.

Investigating the impact of using modified cool materials by titanium dioxide (TiO2)-based photocatalytic self-cleaning nanoparticles in urban facades on urban microclimate parameters

PurposeOn the one hand, one of the most important global strategies to improve thermal comfort in urban spaces is using cool materials (high albedo materials) in urban facades. On the other hand, using cool materials in urban facades is a big challenge. Over time, the albedo of cool materials that modified by titanium dioxide (TiO2)-based photocatalytic self-cleaning materials (PSTiO2) does not decrease. In fact, its self-cleaning property prevents the loss of the initial albedo of the material. The self-cleaning performance of these materials was investigated in previous researches. However, their thermal performance in urban space has not been investigated yet. This paper studied the performance of these materials on the urban square facade. Design/methodology/approachThe thermal performance of PSTiO2 on the thermal comfort of the urban square was evaluated by ENVI-met(v4). The results simulated by ENVI-met software with field measurements in the urban Square were compared. Field measurements of air temperature were conducted on 22 July and 30 March. FindingsThe results showed that these materials, despite their self-cleaning properties, have significant thermal impact in the urban environment. Using plaster modified by PSTiO2 (albedo 0.6) improved slightly by nearly 0.2 °C the thermal comfort of the urban square. Whereas, white paint modified by PSTiO2 (albedo 0.9) reduced the physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) by 0.5 °C, because reflection of solar radiation increased between the buildings facades. The simulation results showed that due to the space is more enclosed in the square entrance, the mean radiant temperature (Tmrt) increased. As a result, PET index rose too. Originality/valueThis study shows that employing cool and self-cleaning materials in the urban facades of Jolfa Square, in addition to have self-cleaning property, is effective in the amount of thermal comfort of the square. In the parts of the square where the enclosure is less, an improvement in thermal comfort was observed. The performance of the cool and self-cleaning materials in the facade in terms of thermal comfort is completely dependent on the physical parameters of the urban space.

Student youth participation in the development of a comfortable urban environment

Currently, the problem of youth participation in the development of urban space is extremely relevant both from the perspective of transforming the living environment with the resources of local communities, and the socialization of urban youth itself, expanding opportunities for personal growth through involvement in socially useful activities. The purpose of the article is to identify the conditions and readiness to participate in the development of a comfortable urban environment for students. The study was conducted in Vologda, Russian Federation, through a quantitative methodological strategy (questionnaire survey among university students, n = 207). The paper presents theoretical and methodological approaches to understanding the urban environment and a comfortable urban environment. It is indicated that a comfortable urban environment is a socio-economic category, reflecting the interactions within the urban space, which is most comfortable for the life of citizens. It is concluded that the student youth expresses their willingness to actively participate in decision-making on the development and improvement of the urban environment. In conclusion, the directions of enhancing the civic participation of young people in the formation of a comfortable urban space on the basis of dialogue platforms are considered.

ВИЗУАЛЬНЫЕ КОММУНИКАЦИИ И СРЕДСТВА ЦИФРОВОЙ НАВИГАЦИОННОЙ СИСТЕМЫ В УСЛОВИЯХ УРБАНИЗАЦИИ ГОРОДСКОГО ПРОСТРАНСТВА

The article examines the authors' design research aimed at forming a modern interpretation of visual communications as one of the fundamental principles of forming a comfortable urban space for life. The main part of the material is devoted to the study of the visual field of the urban environment and its development, taking into account anthropological and socio-cultural patterns. The features of the visual space in a large modern city immersed in the digital age are analyzed. This makes it possible to identify environmental opportunities by creating a navigation system, to master the means and examples of visual and artistic formation of the urban environment. Identification of the author's view on the architectural and urban situation of the regions, and proposals for the development of a more effective urban development strategy.

Cross-evaluation of thermal comfort in semi-outdoor spaces according to geometry in Southern Spain

Climatic events in Mediterranean cities, such as heat waves, directly affect their inhabitants. As a result, outdoor thermal comfort in urban spaces is gaining increasing research attention because it is associated with the quality of life in these cities. Significant improvements have been achieved in the adaptation of buildings; however, a similar level of resilience to climate is not observed in urban spaces.This research proposes quantifying thermal comfort in semi-outdoor enclosed spaces according to EN16798, UTCI and PET. The study is carried out in different cities in southern Spain, employing 20 courtyards with different geometries. Results reveal courtyards as liveable rooms during most hours of the day in summer. The influence of its geometry considering AR is decisive since the impact of outdoor climate on the microclimate of the courtyard depends on it, exceeding values of 60% comfort hours (PET and EN16798) in all case studies during the warm season. When AR > 3, the courtyard reaches comfort 90–100% of the hours of the day and approximately 70–80% when the AR 2–3. In the case of the most common geometries in Mediterranean cities, with AR 1–2, >70% of the hours the courtyards are within the limits of comfort.

Building form and outdoor thermal comfort: Inverse design the microclimate of outdoor space for a kindergarten

Thermally comfortable mircoclimate is essential for creating high-quality outdoor spaces that attract citizens and boost city vitality. Previous design efforts to improve outdoor thermal comfort were usually conducted at large scales, such as city scale, neighborhood scale, urban block scale. Few researchers focused on the building scale. This study proposes an optimization framework based on genetic algorithm to determine the building shape, orientation, and location during early design stage that reduces the overall thermal stress in the target outdoor space. Solar radiation and wind fields were simulated to obtain the outdoor Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) as the performance indicator. The simulations were validated against the experimental data. This investigation applied the proposed optimization framework to design the outdoor space for a kindergarten under the climate of Tianjin and Shanghai, respectively. The results showed that optimization reduced the overall thermal stress. The most favourable kindergarten forms were suggested through optimization. Moreover, solar radiation has been proved to contribute more to outdoor thermal comfort than wind field and heat stress is more important than cold stress during optimization. This study supplements the inverse design of outdoor thermal comfort at building scale and provides suggestions to create comfortable urban outdoor spaces.

Changing the World with the Planet: Crowdfunding Opportunities for Territorial Development

Crowdfunding represents one of the latest instruments in territorial development. A significant share of the projects on Planeta.ru, Russia’s largest crowdfunding platform, are campaigns by regional activists, who unite people and jointly implement initiatives on the ground — improving parks, opening new comfortable urban spaces, and developing rural areas. How does crowdfunding work and how can it be useful?

Improving outdoor thermal comfort of a kindergarten by optimizing its building shape with genetic algorithm

Thermally comfortable mircoclimate is essential for creating high-quality outdoor spaces that attract citizens and boost city vitality. Previous design efforts to improve outdoor thermal comfort were usually conducted at large scales, such as city scale, neighborhood scale, urban block scale. Few researchers focused on the building scale. This study proposes an optimization framework based on genetic algorithm to determine the building shape, orientation, and location during early design stage that reduces the overall thermal stress in the target outdoor space. Solar radiation and wind fields were simulated to obtain the outdoor Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) as the performance indicator. The simulations were validated against the experimental data. This investigation applied the proposed optimization framework to design the outdoor space for a kindergarten under the climate of Tianjin and Shanghai, respectively. The results showed that optimization reduced the overall thermal stress. The most favourable kindergarten forms were suggested through optimization. This study supplements the inverse design of outdoor thermal comfort at building scale and provides suggestions to create comfortable urban outdoor spaces.

Implementation of world and Russian indicators of the “smart city” concept in the environmental parameters of the development of urbanized territories

In recent years, one can observe more intensive anthropogenic development of urban areas in the world and in the Russian Federation. This has led to the growth of urban agglomerations and a high level of urbanization, which negatively affects not only the environment, but also the social and economic components. One can note the trend in the development of digital technologies. The introduction of new technologies aimed at improving the lives of the population and creating sustainable development of the subject also has an environmental context. There is a noticeable similarity between the criteria of a “Smart City” and the goals of achieving sustainable development. They have a common direction - the creation of a comfortable and sustainable urban space, where the environmental, economic and social components will function in a single system and balance each other. But the main limitation of the implementation of this concept in Russia is the lack of funding and its uneven distribution across regions. The smart city management system should be a complex whole of interconnected elements, where the functioning of a separate part ensures the operation of the entire system as a whole. The result should be an increase in the efficient functioning of government bodies and an improvement in the quality of life of the population preserving the environment.

Участие молодежи в развитии комфортной городской среды

Introduction. The article assesses the level of living comfort of the population in a large city, based on the objective and subjective data. The authors also study the role of the youth participation in the development of a comfortable urban space. The problem of youth participation in the development of urban space and the formation of a high-quality urban space is extremely relevant both for the transformation of the living environment with and for the socialization of the urban youth. Methods. The study was carried out in the large cities of the Vologda Region by a quantitative methodological strategy (data of a sociological survey on the living conditions of the population, 2022, N=1600). Results and its discussion. It is concluded that the large cities of the Vologda Region have been characterized by an increase in the integral value of the urban space quality index in recent years. The index is calculated by the national project «Housing and Urban Space», however, the subjective assessments of citizens demonstrate significant problems in the development of urban space. The results how that the young people, despite more critical assessment of the city, do not show the interest to discuss topical issues of urban development and often do not want to participate in the design of a high-quality urban space. The authors propose to develop open dialogue platforms with the city authorities, the youth public organizations and the young people in order to increase the participation of young citizens in the design of comfortable urban space.

Effects of different tree layouts on outdoor thermal comfort of green space in summer Shanghai

Creating thermally comfortable urban green space is beneficial to city vitality. When designing and building a green space, the layout of trees will influence its microclimate. This study aims to find suitable tree layouts that provide good outdoor thermal comfort for the commonly used ‘open forest and grassland’ type of green space. By using a validated numerical model, this study compared the microclimate and thermal comfort of a generic green space with 17 different layouts on a typical summer day in Shanghai, China. The comparison found that the air temperature and specific humidity difference within the site were limited to 1 °C and 0.8 g/kg, respectively, for all layouts. The shade provided by the trees greatly reduced the mean radiant temperature (Tmrt) and physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) by 20 °C and 11 °C, respectively. Trees provided a significant reduction in shortwave solar radiation, and evenly distributing the trees on the site only increased the fraction of shaded area from 11% to 14.7%. The major influence of tree layouts was on the wind distribution. A large low wind regime was created in the downstream area of trees and increase the PET value by up to 7 K. As a result, when considering the microclimate and thermal comfort of green space in summer, it is suggested to arrange the trees downstream of wind to avoid low winds at the site.

The influence of outdoor thermal comfort on acoustic comfort of urban parks based on plant communities

As human beings live in an environment where various factors interact and integrate, it seems vital to examine the effects of these factors on environmental perceptions. Outdoor thermal and acoustic environments are the main factors affecting the overall comfort of urban spaces. This research uses measurements and questionnaire surveys to explore the effects of outdoor thermal comfort dimensions on acoustic comfort, emphasizing the plant community in a city park (the El Goli Park of Tabriz, Iran). In this regard, the general comfort of the psychological equivalent temperature (PET) under different conditions of the thermal-acoustic environment has been evaluated and predicted. The results showed that a higher thermal sensation vote (TSV) and PET result in a significant decrease in soundscape quality (SQ), overall impression (OI), and the percentage of reported natural dominant sound (%RNDS), while an inverse trend has been reported in thermal comfort vote (TCV). On the other hand, by increasing TSV and PET, reported loudness (RL) has recorded an upward trend. However, this process was completely reversed in TCV. Furthermore, the analyzes showed that PET has a lower effectiveness compared to TSV and TCV and, it should be stated that the three indicators of thermal comfort did not show any significant relationship with landscape quality (LQ) and sound pressure level (SPL). These findings are important for managing and improving outdoor acoustic comfort and soundscapes, and it is expected that future studies will consider the acquired results in various green urban environments and provide a practical framework for landscape architects and urban planners.

Assessment of urban heat islands and thermal discomfort in the Amazonia biome in Brazil: A case study of Manaus city

The urban heat island (UHI) is an important phenomenon due to its direct and indirect impacts on the health of the population residing in urban environments. Very few studies have been conducted on the relationships between UHI and outdoor thermal comfort in the Amazonia biome. In this work, we analyzed the behavior of hourly variability of the UHI, heat index (HI), thermal discomfort, and Land Surface Temperature (LST) in Manaus (Brazil). The novelty of the study is to assess the degree of alteration of the UHI with changes in vegetation cover in the Amazon biome. Temperature and air humidity data were collected from six weather stations from July 2013 to July 2014. In addition, satellite images of the TM and OLI/TIRS sensors onboard the Landsat 5 and Landsat 8 satellites for the years 1987, 1998, 2007, and 2015 were used. The intensity of the UHI increased during the analyzed period. The weather stations located in the urban area had temperatures above 30.0 °C, while the temperatures in the rural area ranged from 25.0 to 26.5 °C. As a direct implication of the results found, it is noted that in Manaus, the UHI can reduce thermal comfort in urban spaces, directly impacting people's quality of life and health. The periods with the least amount of precipitation in the city (August and September) can generate thermal discomfort inside houses during the night period, meaning an increase in the number of hours in which people are exposed to heat.