The role of urban morphology on outdoor thermal comfort: The case of Al-Sharq City - Az Zarqa

The new urban expansion towards hot-arid regions has created new settlements in negative microclimatic conditions and intensified the vulnerability of these areas to climate change. The fact that almost half of Jordan's population lives in hot semi-arid areas with future expansion towards these areas, indicates that improving the microclimatic conditions will have a huge impact on the lives of people living there. With Jordan being one of the developing countries, it is not affordable nor is it easy to provide a new high-tech urban design or building design techniques. Such issues need to be handled by more suitable and affordable techniques. Assuming that different urban patterns and configurations can create different microclimatic conditions that affect the outdoor thermal environment highly, this gives urban planners and designers the ability to play a significant role in providing balanced strategies and techniques related to its local context. Microclimate conditions are an aspect that has often been overlooked, especially in their relation to the urban morphology and its influence on the outdoor comfort. In this context, this study investigates the impact of urban form on urban microclimate and how this affects outdoor thermal comfort in public spaces. Hence, evaluating the outdoor thermal comfort of different urban patterns of Al-sharq City with a focus on courtyard patterns in addition to considering its potential for improving hot and semi-arid regions in Jordan, as it is not fully understood yet. The research is carried out in an analytical approach by using different computer programs such as Envi-met and Rayman with an intent to provide strategies to enhance thermal comfort of outdoor spaces causing designers and planners with to consider different influential factors at an early design stage. The results indicate significant thermal effects due to form. Urban form has a noticeable impact over thermal comfort and Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) index. Therefore, the research recommends applying passive solar design strategies, regarding urban form in the first stage of the design process. Microclimate and outdoor thermal situations can highly impact the indoor thermal performance of buildings which suggests the needs for further studies regarding indoor energy consumption and how simulation programs can be integrated in the future urban planning processes.