A FRAMEWORK DEVELOPMENT FOR CLASSIFYING URBAN CONFIGURATION INDICATORS ACCORDING TO ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS: USING ECOTECT SOFTWERE

Duaa Hameed  Alkhuzaie; Hamzah S.  Al-Mamoori; Raed Fawzi Mohammed  Ameen

doi:10.30572/2018/KJE/170241

Authors

Duaa Hameed Alkhuzaie Postgraduate student at Architectural Department, Babylon University, Iraq
Hamzah S. Al-Mamoori Prof. Doctor, Architectural Engineering Dept. / Babylon University, Iraq
Raed Fawzi Mohammed Ameen BRE Institute for Sustainable Engineering, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30572/2018/KJE/170241

Keywords:

Thermal comfort, Ecotect Software, Urban Configuration, Urban Configuration indicators

Abstract

The rapid urbanization of the modern cites, alongside growing concerns about urban heat islands and climate change, has presented increasing challenges to cities, particularly regarding their resilience to these changes and ensuring their environmental sustainability. Urban configuration plays a pivotal in influencing the climate conditions, and this influence differs according to environmental conditions of the region. Hence the importance of studying and analyzing each urban configuration separately based on its unique environmental characteristics. Based on the foregoing, this research paper aims to address the following question: How do urban configuration contribute to affecting the level of thermal comfort within urban spaces? The research adopts an analytical approach and employing the simulation Ecotect software to investigates the degree to which urban form affects thermal comfort in outdoor spaces, by an analytical study conducted on two different urban patterns in Baghdad, Iraq: the gridiron pattern and the organic pattern. The study results showed that The organic planning prevalent in ancient cities, achieved the best thermal performance in hot, dry climates. Where, the results showed that the Mean Radiant Temperature (MRT) was decreased by more than 15 degrees in comparison to the gridiron pattern. In conclusion, the results confirm that adopting an appropriate urban pattern significantly contributes to enhancing external thermal comfort and mitigating the effects of climate change

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