Impact of urban configurations on microclimate and thermal comfort in residential area of Kuala Lumpur

Abstract

The increase of vertical development causes the modification of urban microclimates and higher intensity of Urban Heat Island (UHI). Scholars emphasise that urban configuration is one of the major factors that influences this issue. Current studies on the relationship of urban configurations and urban climate mainly focus on the urban canyon. Furthermore, there is lack of focus on the impact of urban configurations on both microclimate and thermal comfort. Therefore, this study investigated the impact of urban configurations on the mitigation of UHI and the balance between microclimate and thermal comfort, called Climatically Responsive Urban Configuration (CRUC) in Kuala Lumpur. Four urban configurations, namely: Courtyard, U, Courtyard Canyon and Canyon were investigated using ENVI-met simulation. The urban configurations were simulated according to the value of Sky View Factor (SVF). Besides, these urban configurations were set according to two canyon directions; East West and North South in two empirical sites situated in Kuala Lumpur. The results showed that the urban configurations have impact on both microclimate and thermal comfort. This is an indication that the increase of SVF in urban configurations could mitigate the intensity of the UHI. Enclosed urban configurations such as the Courtyard and Courtyard Canyon complied with the concept of CRUC in the setting of East West canyon direction, whereas urban configurations with canyon features for Canyon and Courtyard Canyon are recommended in the setting of North South canyon direction. The finding emphasised that in Kuala Lumpur climatic context, the high intensity of the solar radiation is the main influential factor in UHI mitigation and forming the CRUC. It is recommended that urban planners avoid East-West canyon direction in strategising the impact of urban configurations on microclimate and thermal comfort.