24/11/2024

Ezeokoye Chukwuedozie Jude

190501003

Arc 439 Principles of Urban Design

Write on the role of Urban Design in Climate Change

WHAT IS URBAN DESIGN?

Apart from simply being the bridge between town planning and architecture, On a deeper level, Urban design is the
process of shaping the physical environment of a community, city, or region to improve its quality and functionality. It
involves designing buildings, streets, public spaces, and landscapes to create environments that are visually appealing,
user-friendly, and culturally relevant.

Urban design is a multi-disciplinary field that combines the practices of architecture, planning, and landscape
architecture. It considers a variety of objectives and interests, including economic, social, and environmental value.
Urban design projects can range in scale from a local street to an entire city.

Urban Design Group, UK describes it as the design of towns and cities, streets and spaces. It is the collaborative and
multi-disciplinary process of shaping the physical setting for life – the art of making places. Urban design involves the
design of buildings, groups of buildings, spaces and landscapes, and establishing frameworks and procedures that will
deliver successful development by different people over time.

Wikipedia defines Urban design as an approach to the design of buildings and the spaces between them that focuses on
specific design processes and outcomes. In addition to designing and shaping the physical features of towns, cities, and
regional spaces, urban design considers 'bigger picture' issues of economic, social and environmental value and social
design. The scope of a project can range from a local street or public space to an entire city and surrounding areas.
Urban designers connect the fields of architecture, landscape architecture and urban planning to better organize physical
space and community environments.

In his abstract for International Encyclopedia of Human Geography (Second Edition), 2020, Creighton Connolly tells us
that the practice of urban design refers to the planning of urban environments at a macroscale, looking beyond
individual buildings to the broader layout of the city and its streets, plazas, landmarks, infrastructure, and other domains
of public life. The standardized urban form found in many European and American contexts emerged largely from mid-
19th-Century efforts to modernize and regulate the rapidly growing and industrializing cities in those regions. A primary
role of urban design in recent decades has been to link cities in to the global economy and to attract foreign investment,
which is increasingly important in an era of intercity competition.

Mrsc.org says Urban design is the shaping of a community’s physical form in a way that considers a multiplicity of
objectives and interests through an inclusive, public decision-making process. Combining the practices of architecture,
planning, and landscape architecture, urban design addresses the functional and aesthetic qualities of the physical
environment at a range of scales, from the individual streetscape, park, or block to the larger community, city, or region.

Urban Design Lab published that Urban design is the process that involves creating buildings, groups of buildings,
spaces, and landscapes, as well as establishing frameworks and procedures that will ensure success for future
generations. Town and city planning, street design, and public space design are all parts of urban design. In essence, it’s
about composing the physical setting for life by bringing together multiple disciplines – the art of making places.
WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE?

According to the United Nations, Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Such
shifts can be natural, due to changes in the sun’s activity or large volcanic eruptions. But since the 1800s, human
activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.

Burning fossil fuels generates greenhouse gas emissions that act like a blanket wrapped around the Earth, trapping the
sun’s heat and raising temperatures.

The main greenhouse gases that are causing climate change include carbon dioxide and methane. These come from
using gasoline for driving a car or coal for heating a building, for example. Clearing land and cutting down forests can also
release carbon dioxide. Agriculture, oil and gas operations are major sources of methane emissions. Energy, industry,
transport, buildings, agriculture and land use are among the main sectors causing greenhouse gases.

Climate scientists have shown that humans are responsible for virtually all global heating over the last 200 years. Human
activities like the ones mentioned above are causing greenhouse gases that are warming the world faster than at any
time in at least the last two thousand years.

The average temperature of the Earth’s surface is now about 1.2°C warmer than it was in the late 1800s (before the
industrial revolution) and warmer than at any time in the last 100,000 years. The last decade (2011-2020) was the
warmest on record, and each of the last four decades has been warmer than any previous decade since 1850.

Many people think climate change mainly means warmer temperatures. But temperature rise is only the beginning of
the story. Because the Earth is a system, where everything is connected, changes in one area can influence changes in all
others.

The consequences of climate change now include, among others, intense droughts, water scarcity, severe fires, rising sea
levels, flooding, melting polar ice, catastrophic storms and declining biodiversity.

SO HOW DOES URBAN DESIGN AND CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECT EACH OTHER?

Cities worldwide are facing extreme summer temperatures due to climate change. Large parks are known to provide
substantial cooling benefits, but they aren’t always feasible in densely built urban areas. This is where small green spaces
(pocket parks, tiny forests, and green patches) become valuable. Although they occupy less space, they can still offer
substantial cooling, provided they are designed thoughtfully.

Yehan Wu, Agnès Patuano, and their team researched how different configurations of small green spaces impact their
ability to reduce temperatures, using the ENVI-met micro-climate simulation tool. The research focuses on the cooling
effects in four distinct European neighborhood typologies, analyzing three aspects: cooling inside green spaces, cooling
outside them, and the Park Cool Island (PCI) effect, which refers to the temperature difference between green spaces
and their surroundings.

URBAN DESIGN STRATEGIES: KEY FINDINGS FROM THE STUDY

1. Cooling within green spaces: The study found that the design of the green space itself plays a crucial role. Larger
green spaces with a square shape cool more effectively, with mean temperatures inside the green space varying
by as much as 4°C depending on the green space design. Small scattered patches offer the least cooling inside
the space itself, while larger, grouped spaces provide a more comfortable thermal environment.
2. Cooling beyond the green space: Effective urban design not only cools the green spaces but also extends cooling
to the surrounding neighborhood. The study found that grouping small green areas near wide streets reduced
temperatures in the neighborhood by up to 1.3°C. Scattered small patches, especially near narrow streets, were
the least effective.
3. PCI effect and urban morphology: The PCI effect, which measures how much cooler green spaces are compared
to their surroundings, is influenced by both the shape and size of the green space. Larger, squared areas create a
stronger PCI effect, but the layout of the neighborhood — such as street orientation and width — also impacts
cooling. For instance, in neighborhoods with narrow, radial streets, green spaces aligned with prevailing wind
directions cooled more effectively.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS OF OPTIMIZING GREEN SPACE DESIGN FOR URBAN DESIGNERS

The study offers practical guidelines for urban planners and designers, emphasizing that the design of small green
spaces should not be an afterthought. Grouping small green spaces near wide streets, prioritizing larger and square-
shaped patches, and aligning spaces with wind flow are among the most effective strategies for cooling cities.

Small green spaces can be powerful tools for reducing urban heat, but their design needs to be optimized. As cities
continue to face rising temperatures, these design insights will be critical in making urban environments more
comfortable and liveable, particularly for neighborhoods that cannot accommodate large parks.

By understanding the spatial nuances of green space design, urban planners can create greener, cooler cities —
making even small green areas highly effective at cooling their surroundings.

SMART URBAN DESIGN FOR MORE LIVEABLE CITIES

This study underscores the importance of thoughtful green urban design in mitigating urban heat. While larger parks
may not always be possible, small green spaces can still offer substantial cooling benefits when placed and designed
effectively. These insights provide urban planners and designers with actionable guidelines to create more resilient,
heat-resistant neighborhoods.

ENVI-met from One Click LCA, which simulates real-world urban microclimates, was crucial in this study, offering
valuable insights into how different green space designs impact cooling. For urban designers, ENVI-met can help
optimize layouts and ensure cooling solutions are effective, making a tangible difference in everyday thermal
comfort.