Planning of Urban Quarters, Districts and Neighbourhoods in Islam’s Holiest City: A Comparative Analytical Study

Global experiences of planning urban areas are characterised by adopting hierarchical structures from large to small structures, i.e. residential quarter (large residential area), residential district and then residential neighbourhood. Each structure is characterised according to the area, the number of people and the services required for targeting a sustainable urban environment. This concept is a milestone in urban planning in Saudi Arabia. The research attempted to discuss the general trend of planning housing projects in Saudi Arabia and the extent of applying the hierarchal concept. Three models were chosen randomly in Makkah, showing such planning hierarchy. These are Al Shawqiyyah, Al Sharaie and Al Rabwah. These projects were planned four decades ago and became a reality. Through comparative analytical methods, findings revealed ambiguity of the hierarchal planning concept in these projects. Further, the traditional neighbourhood concept was prevalent in most neighbourhoods characterised by low-density development in planning but medium and high densities in reality. The problem is getting worse as cities grow horizontally and vertically. Consistent scientific analysis based on practice and continuous meta-analysis was used. The paper calls for the need to change the current premises of housing plans and reorganise the accumulated problems according to global experiences and local standards.

ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF COMFORT OF HOUSING COMPLEXES (DEVELOPMENT STUDIES IN WESTERN UKRAINE)

Architects and urban planners in the process of designing residential areas use building codes that consider the comfort of living only in terms of safety, sanitation and environmental performance. This article highlights the problem of taking into account a number of additional social parameters of comfort that affect the characteristics of living comfort. The structure of a comprehensive analysis of housing is formed by assessing the elements of living comfort. The presented research algorithm includes the consistent use of methods of sociological survey, evaluation and modeling. Having identified socio-psychological factors of comfort of a residential district at different levels of urban assessment (in the context of location in the city system, formation of the surrounding area, spatial and architectural-planning level), 3 residential development projects of Ivano-Frankivsk were assessed. For a comparative analysis, the architectural and planning solutions of residential quarters "Lemkivsky", "Club town 12", "Vidensky" were used, the construction of which began in 2017. This took into account not only the quantitative technical and economic indicators of individual elements of the project, but also qualitative indicators, the measurement of which in normal conditions is a resource-intensive process. As a result of the analysis and the carried-out estimation the graphic model of the complex analysis of a residential quarter is formed that allows to carry out comparison of various design decisions irrespective of size of a site of quantity of housing sections, etc. Using the method of movement to the ideal, a comprehensive analysis of various residential complexes was carried out. The obtained results allow, both at the stage of designing residential neighborhoods and the analysis of operated facilities to assess them in accordance with the needs of people, as well as to balance the indicators of comfort by applying the proposed architectural and planning techniques.

Renovation of Large-Panel Buildings: Peculiar Features in a Non-Capital Region

The period from 1957 to 1985 features mass industrial development — the construction of "Khrushchev-era buildings". Today, poor structural condition of these buildings represents an urgent challenge. The problem of "Khrushchev-era buildings" is especially urgent for the Irkutsk region due to specific climate conditions, materials used and mistakes made during their construction. Renovation in Irkutsk will allow honing the renovation techniques taking into account the seismic conditions of construction and a cold climate. The article deals with the development of a renovation standard project of a separate residential district in Irkutsk. The author's methodology is based on the content and sequence of stages of such a renovation. As a result, the authors have calculated project costs and profits and justified the conditions for obtaining commercial efficiency for a developer. It is shown that the renovation efficiency can be achieved when the area of residential buildings is doubled and more. Another prerequisite for successful renovation process is the recovery of expenses related to resettlement of citizens from demolished houses subsidized by the state buying out apartments for resettlement under programs of liquidation of dilapidated buildings. In conclusion, the authors point out advantages and drawbacks of the renovation for the population and municipal authorities.

Experimental Analysis of the Influence of Urban Morphological Indices on the Urban Thermal Environment of Zhengzhou, China

Summer extreme high-temperatures occur frequently in large cities; urban spatial form is the primary factor affecting the urban thermal environment. Thus, planning and arranging urban spaces is a key approach to regulating urban microclimates. Studies into how urban spatial forms influence the formation of urban microclimates have been carried out for multiple cities in warm and hot regions; however, few studies of this kind have been carried out for cities in cold regions. In this study, we analyze Zhengzhou, a city located in a cold region of China, using summer 2017 measurement data to determine why high temperatures develop in cold areas. We investigated how temperature and humidity vary during the morning, at noon, and in the evening given different land use properties (commercial and residential) and different spatial forms (building height, building density, green coverage rate, and plot ratio); we then studied the correlation between urban spatial form and the urban thermal environment. Our research results indicate that the commercial district’s thermal microclimate was related to PR and BH in the afternoon and GCR in the morning and at night. In the residential district, the key urban morphology factors related to its thermal microclimates were BD, PR, and GCR during almost the whole day.

Selective Collection of Municipal Waste in a Residential District with Multi-Family Buildings—Case Study from Poland

Social and economic changes make it necessary to put in a great deal of conscious effort to shift towards a closed-loop economy, where waste provides a source of raw materials. The low level of selective collection of municipal waste poses a challenge in many countries, including Poland. One of the major causes of the problems in Poland lies in the fact that waste collection points (WCPs) do not have adequate waste containers. The paper aims to put forward a proposal to improve the operation of WCPs. Seeking for new solutions, it is necessary to account for the conditions under which the bodies responsible for waste management take their decisions. They have to comply with the legislation in force, and at the same time, choose the options that generate the lowest costs. The study concerned a typical residential district with housing in multi-family buildings. For two fill rate variants and four emptying schedules, the number of above-ground containers was calculated. Two variants: for above-ground containers (variant I) and for semi-underground containers (variant II), were compared in terms of operating costs and investment outlays. The proposed increase in the number of above-ground containers, and additionally providing semi-underground containers, will contribute to increased engagement of the local community in the selective collection of waste.