The authors have produced an in-depth, comprehensive treatise on bringing together climatology research and applied urban design, covering urban design in its widest sense, for any situation where facilities constructed by humans modify the prevailing climate.
The book, which includes notes, references and additional reading, is clearly illustrated and well written. It comprises four sections.
An overview of the processes that characterise the urban microclimate. This is a literature review bringing into the public domain academic research on climate and urban environments which was not readily available to practitioners.
An exploration of human thermal comfort in outdoor spaces. This section analyses the energy balance of the pedestrian in the street and goes on to question whether comfort standards developed for controlled indoor conditions provide useful guidance in the design of outdoor space.
A discussion of the application of climatology as part of the process of planning the urban environment. This section covers issues such as building densities, street orientation and the influence of landscaped areas on building energy performance and pedestrian thermal comfort.
Case studies of two urban projects driven by concern for microclimatic conditions. The case studies demonstrate different approaches and successes, one being in the Negev desert of Israel and the other in Clarke Quay, in tropical Singapore.
The authors' aim for the book is to seek to answer the question ‘how can the design of significant places and spaces between buildings be informed by knowledge of the microclimate?’. Their challenge was to present scientific information that can readily be integrated into the real-world process of design. I believe that in general they have been successful, certainly in challenging designers, architects and planners to look again at their approach to urban design. One of the threads running through the book is that much of the literature dealing with climate and design focuses on the effects of climate on creating comfortable indoor conditions. This is seen as a recent twentieth century invention as previously design was around the physical environment, available resources and climate, mediated by social needs, taboos and trial and error.
The scientific approach taken by the authors demonstrates the frailties of models, for example by failing to reproduce the complexity of real urban environments and lack of real validation, and of current design approaches, for example while the urban scale (a resolution of about 1 km or less) is of primary interest in the study of urban climatology, architectural decisions are typically still made at a smaller scale. On the practical front, a number of areas for further consideration are identified, such as how the performance certification through building energy-rating schemes might be affected if local climate modifications are not accounted for. Vegetative ground cover enhanced with shade trees can lower ground temperatures, and reduce reflected radiation on pedestrians, and the judicious use of shade trees can also significantly reduce the rate of water loss from grass and thereby irrigation needs.
While the authors have demonstrated the many uncertainties and drawbacks of our current urban design processes, they also point out possible new approaches which, if taken, could make a significant step forward in climate adaptation and sustainable urban design. The book is directed at architects and planners, but I would recommend anyone involved in the design of urban facilities, whether they are design engineers, or building services or infrastructure designers, to use this book as a guide to next-generation design.
Peter Braithwaite
