Correlative Impact of Shading Strategies and Configurations Design on Pedestrian-Level Thermal Comfort in Traditional Shophouse Neighbourhoods, Southern China

Shi Yin, Werner Lang, Yiqiang Xiao and Zhao Xu
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Shi Yin: School of Architecture, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China
Werner Lang: Institute of Energy Efficient and Sustainable Design and Building, Technical University of Munich, 80333 Munich, Germany
Yiqiang Xiao: School of Architecture, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China
Zhao Xu: School of Civil Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 5, 1-26

Abstract: Traditional shophouse neighbourhoods (TSNs) in southern China respond well to the local hot and humid climate through proper street configurations and the integration of different shading strategies. Investigating the impact of shading strategies and configurations in TSNs on outdoor thermal comfort is valuable for guiding current urban design. Three street canyons in a TSN of Guangzhou with different shading strategies were selected as basic cases for microclimatic measurement in the summer season, i.e., alleys, streets with arcade for pedestrians, and streets with high-density greenery. After validating their simulation models in ENVI-met, five groups of parametric simulations were generated by varying the canyon aspect ratio (CHW), the canyon axis orientation, arcade proportion (AHW), and the tree-covered area (TCA). Using the physiological equivalent temperature (PET) to assess the above results, the correlative impact of different variations on pedestrian’s thermal comfort and their corresponding favourable ranges are summarized. The findings suggest that: (a) only in alleys and arcade streets, the pedestrian-level thermal comfort was significantly influenced by canyon axis orientation. (b) The thermal stress for pedestrians increased dramatically when the CHW was lower than 1.5 in alleys and 0.78 in boulevards (in TCA = 89%), while the CHW higher than 1 indicated a remarkable reduction on the PET for pedestrians in arcades. (c) The pedestrians started losing the protection from shading strategy to thermal stress when the AHW was higher than 1.33 (in canyon with CHW = 1) or the TCA was lower than 33% (in canyon with CHW = 0.78).

Keywords: hot and humid climate zone; street canyon; shading strategy design; parametric simulation; pedestrian-level thermal comfort (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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