Analysis of outdoor thermal comfort using three-dimensional microclimate modelling in Surabaya

Surabaya is one of the metropolitan cities in Indonesia. The large population in Surabaya causes a lot of development and land conversion. This situation can affect the temperature in Surabaya to be higher than the surrounding area, thus affecting the comfort of people for outdoor activities. The level of comfort can be known when the microclimate conditions in the area have been identified. This paper aims to analyze outdoor thermal conditions using temperature, humidity, wind, and land use data which will be visualized in three dimensions to get a more comprehensive understanding. This research is located in Pakuwon Trade Center (PTC). Data acquisition was carried out on four different types of land cover, namely local residential, apartments, main parking lots, and real estate area. The results show that apartments have the lowest comfort index followed by real estate, local residential, and main parking lots. However, the four areas have comfort from warm to hot with a predicted percentage of the discomfort of around 75% - 100%. This number shows that mitigation that can reduce extreme heat and increase outdoor comfort in PTC is needed.

Developing Resilience to Emergencies: Evaluation of Thermal Indices and Outdoor Comfort Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This research discusses thermal indices and outdoor comfort before and during the Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in three counties in Connecticut (41.6032°N, 73.0877°W), United States. The counties are Fairfield, Hartford, and New Haven. Existing research noted that people residing in highly populated urban and low-income areas are disproportionately affected by the pandemic and subject to health, heat, and cold stress-related problems. As a result, the study is motivated to examine outdoor comfort and thermal indices in the counties that account for over 75% of the population in the state. The specific aim of the study is to examine outdoor comfort and thermal indices a year before and during the pandemic to determine if the pandemic significantly affects outdoor occupants and their overall well-being. Due to lesser activities observed during the pandemic than before the pandemic, the research questions include 1) Does the pandemic year provide a more comfortable thermal environment for outdoor occupants than the period before the pandemic? 2) Does the period provide a cleaner environment with no thermal or cold stress to occupants than before the pandemic? The research approaches include the field data recorded in 2019 and 2020. The research also utilized observations and mathematical models. The findings revealed that the mean monthly temperatures varied from −3.2°C to 25.2°C and relative humidity ranged from and 62.6–70.7%. The study revealed cold stress in wintertime, especially in Fairfield. Heat stress is also noted in summertime across the counties. New Haven is more prone to heat stress than other counties because of some factors (such as climate change, lesser land area, higher incidence from solar radiation, etc.). Higher thermal indices are reported in 2020 (during the pandemic) than the indices computed for 2019 (pre-pandemic) which could influence thermal comfort, health, and well-being of people. The indices are strongly influenced by outdoor temperatures and dew-point. A combination of some environmental variables such as temperature and wind speed also have significant effects on the indices. The study recommends that the use of clean energy for running infrastructure systems would help in mitigating the impact of climate change in various locations. The investigation suggests that a thorough evaluation of environmental conditions and interventions should be explored for developing resilience to emergencies in cities and urban areas. The research outcomes provide useful information for designers, planners, stakeholders, policymakers, etc., to develop pathways for achieving resilient zero-carbon cities in various places.

On the Thermal Resilience of Venetian Open Spaces

Venice is known for its urban heritage fragility. The city is experiencing an increase in yearly average temperatures affecting outdoor–indoor comfort and average energy expenditure. Owing to existing literature demonstrating how local microclimate depends on urban density, form, and materials, this investigation studies the influence of the changing local climate on Venetian vernacular open spaces, known as Campi. Based on the comparison of contemporary weather and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) future predictions for the 2050 scenario, this investigation highlights how Campi’s open spaces and the surrounding buildings, canals, and green public areas contribute to building climate resilience. By employing advanced modelling, the study analyses microclimate and outdoor comfort with respect to users’ perception of Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET). The ENVI-met tool is used to simulate the thermal behaviour of two representative Campi: SS. Giovanni e Paolo and S. Polo. Despite significant temperature growths, Venetian urban fabric characteristics seem to play a crucial role in strengthening the climate resilience of open spaces, thus preserving outdoor comfort quality in a warmer future. The analysis shows how the historical matrix of open spaces and buildings cooperate. Thus, this study offers a contribution to how built heritage should be considered in light of climate change.

An investigation on the radiant heat balance for different urban tissues in Mediterranean climate: a case study

The outdoor radiant field is a key aspect to determine outdoor comfort conditions for humans, especially in urban areas. In order to unveil the dependence of the radiant field on the features of the urban fabrics, this study analyses the space distribution of the Mean Radiant Temperature (TMRT) and the radiant field in various urban tissues of the city of Catania (Italy) in a typical Mediterranean climate. The study is based on simulations through the Solar and LongWave Environmental Irradiance Geometry model (SOLWEIG) implemented in UMEP. Results show that the worst conditions occur in areas with moderately deep urban canyons, abundant impervious surfaces and lack of vegetation: here, the TMRT can easily reach 78 °C while in more than 80% of the area it exceeds 60 °C. By modelling the time trends of the shortwave and longwave radiant heat fluxes perceived by a pedestrian, it has been possible to observe that the highest contribution to the outdoor radiant field comes from the downward solar irradiance. However, the downward and upward longwave radiant flux closely follows: this suggests the importance of providing shading rather than using highly reflective surfaces that can exacerbate heat stress by means of the increased reflected shortwave radiation.

Carbon Neutral Urban Block in Athens - 2050

Athens’ extensive urbanisation, lack of green areas and the extreme heat caused by increasingly frequent heat waves indicate the need for actions improving indoor and outdoor comfort, which is closely related to the energy consumption of the buildings. This work’s aim is to create a carbon neutral block in Athens on the 2050 horizon. The optimization of the block’s form based on principles of environmental design and climatic analysis was performed to enhance its environmental benefits. Simulations on the energy performance of the block and calculations on the ability to cover the energy loads by renewables were conducted. Finally, to meet the zero-carbon neutrality, a connection with the neighbouring blocks was established. The results demonstrate the benefits of a bioclimatic, carbon neutral building design in Athens and provide a practical prototype, which can be adapted in other projects, thereby enabling the shift to a more efficient and environmentally friendly built environment.

The role of building morphology on pedestrian level comfort in Northern climate

Due to the rapid densification of cities, improving outdoor comfort is becoming increasingly important. To address this need, the current study introduces a methodology to evaluate outdoor comfort in the proximity of typical buildings in Tallinn, Estonia. The microclimate simulation software ENVI-met was employed to investigate the outdoor comfort conditions. The research outcomes show that the building's form, height, density, and orientation change consistently the pedestrian comfort around the buildings. The findings suggest that the integrated analysis of different building morphologies, massing, orientation, and their influences on the surrounding microclimate, thermal, and wind comfort are important.

Development and initial tests of an urban comfort monitoring system

The paper presents a newly developed low-cost measurement system for outdoor comfort monitoring. The solution is based on IoT (Internet of Things) technologies and is cloud-connected. The system is able to collect physical environment data, and includes a movable GPS monitoring station as well as the subjective thermal sensation of pedestrians via a devoted app. The cloud interface promptly elaborates the received data to calculate outdoor thermal comfort indices such as UTCI (Universal Thermal Climate Index), MRT (mean radiant temperature), and ET (effective temperature). The system is conceived for supporting both fixed and traveling measurements, and to support correlation studies between monitored environmental variables and personal comfort sensations to promote the local adaptation of comfort indices. Results from early testing are also reported.

Study of Universal Thermal Comfort Index in Hosing Estate Public Space in Bangkok, Thailand

A lower external temperature increases comfort and reduces the chance of heat stress; it can be impacted by the density of the urban area, and this is an important issue for the residents in housing estate developments. Therefore, to sustainably reduce this issue, the external temperature is important to manage for urban public spaces’ development. This article reports the results of studies on increasing thermal comfort in public areas by adding different types of shading into computer programs, Rhinoceros and Grasshopper, to calculate the Universal Thermal Comfort Index (UTCI). Increasing the outdoor comfort can be done by adding shaded areas via large trees that can result in thermal reduction and humidity increase, but they do not obstruct air circulation. The result can be used as a guideline for the design of public spaces in housing estates to meet the outdoor comfort efficiently and support the users’ expectations.

Adaptative Cover to Achieve Thermal Comfort in Open Spaces of Buildings: Experimental Assessment and Modelling

The global need for healthy and safe open spaces faces continuous temperature rise due to the heat island phenomenon and climate change. This problem requires new strategies for improving the habitability of open spaces (indoor and outdoor conditions in buildings). These techniques include reducing solar radiation, reducing the temperature of surrounding surfaces, and reducing the air temperature. The radiant solutions are essential for outdoor comfort, both in summer and in winter. They are easy to integrate into open spaces. This study explores a new concept of radiant solutions adapted for outdoor spaces. The solution was evaluated in a test cell to obtain its thermal behaviour in different operation conditions. Solutions were optimised for operating in a cooling regimen since it has been identified that the demands for comfort in open spaces in hot climates during the most severe summer months are more pronounced. Experimental results have allowed getting an inverse model to analyse the thermal behaviour of the solution. The inverse model achieved high precision in its estimations. Also, it facilitated knowing the radiant and convective effects. Only the radiant heat flux is relevant in open spaces with a low level of air confinement. Finally, the discussion describes the application of the proposed model. The model allows the replicability of the solution—creating new designs (integration) or evaluating into different operating conditions of the system. This discussion demonstrates the high level of knowledge acquired in the characterisation of the solution studied.

Promoting Green Real Estate Development by Increasing Residents’ Satisfaction

Green real estate is a new form of development that seeks to reduce the negative impact of real estate construction on the environment and society. It offers various forms of environmental and social utility and also bears higher construction costs. Residents’ satisfaction and willingness to pay (WTP) are therefore of great significance for the progress of green real estate. However, residents’ satisfaction with green residential areas and its correlation with WTP has been insufficiently researched. This study draws on face-to-face interviews conducted with 614 households in Qingtangwan (an exemplary green real estate project in Beijing) to extract information about residents’ satisfaction and WTP. With regard to satisfaction, it identifies five main components, specifically the operation and maintenance of residential areas, indoor and outdoor comfort, building quality, sustainable community attachment, and public facility accessibility (this last category had lower satisfaction). In terms of WTP, residents’ mean WTP was found to be CHY 204.23 per month, which is approximately USD 31.19. In addition to the bid value, the indoor and outdoor comfort, building quality, sense of community, and public facility accessibility were all found to be significantly related to residents’ WTP. Relevant policy recommendations for promoting this development mode included the establishment of public funds, the regular collection and disclosure of information about residents’ satisfaction, phased rent increases, and the enhancement of community cultural construction.