Sky View Factor at Street Canyons and its application in urban heat island.

Abstract

Studying the thermal properties of urban public spaces, specifically urban streets, is essential for comprehending climate change and environmental sustainability in urban research as it seems to influence the comfort level of people using these spaces. The design characteristics of street canyons were examined in the hot semi-arid setting of Pune, and numerical simulations were employed to analyze the effects of design elements and their implications for Urban Heat Island Intensity. According to the 2021 IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, the global average temperature increased by 1.09°C between 2011 and 2020. Furthermore, this analysis identifies an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme heat occurrences. Higher Sky View Factors (SVFs) amplify reflections of both short-wave and long-wave radiations, contributing significantly to an uncomfortable outdoor thermal climate, which is critical in the domains of urban morphology and climatology. The numerical study examine the effect of Sky View Factor on thermal comfort in street canyon. The SVFs in residential canyon for selected for the study were analysed using RayMan and ENVI-Met software. It was found that the strong correlation with R² of 0.885 between SVF and MRT and R² of 0.9994 between PET and MRT. The study will help architects and planners to develop a climate-resilient framework for enhancing thermal comfort in urban canyon.