Using simulation methods to investigate the impact of urban form on human comfort. Case study: Coast of Baltim, North Coast, Egypt

Abstract

Coastal regions have specific climatic conditions, that require deliberate thinking before considering urban interventions. So, understanding these conditions is the starting point to lay out a responsive design that realizes the symbiotic relationship between nature and urban development in such a sensitive context. This paper analyses different parameters of the urban form, that control the outdoor human thermal, and wind comfort in the Egyptian coastal zone. It presents an experimental investigation of the microclimatic conditions, in selected districts, on the coast of Baltim (resort city in Egypt). It uses ENVI-met 4.0 Software to assess three environmental variables, namely: Air Temperature, Relative Humidity, Wind Speed, and one thermal index (PMV). It compares the results of simulating three different orientations of urban blocks in three different districts. The measurements were taken during both the summer and winter of 2018. In addition, the research focuses on correlating simulation results, at the selected sites, to the key parameters of the examined blocks, which are: Aspect Ratio (H/W), Street Orientation, and Building Volume. Finally, the results give an indication of the way in which design configurations of urban blocks could be controlled to enhance the microclimatic conditions in such coastal areas. Keywords: Coastal areas, Thermal comfort, Wind comfort, Urban geometry, Urban development