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This chapter discusses the dominant role played by urban form in determining the local-scale urban heat island intensity across a city. Urban form is intended purely as the geometry of urban surface, determined by the shape and arrangement of buildings at the district scale. The correlation between changes in the urban fabric and urban heat island intensity across a city is described in relation to two features of urban form: urban compactness and vertical density. A set of urban form parameters is provided for applications in urban planning to map the climate performance of different urban textures.

A lack of scientific basis for the conception and development of urban environments has been evidenced in tropical climates. The lack of urban morphology and climate data needed for carrying out the analyses has been a major barrier for researching into context specific urban and building elements, including building energy systems, for achieving adequate indoor environmental conditions at low energy consumption. The result has been air-conditioned buildings with poor energy performance, unconditioned spaces unsuitable for human comfort and an increasing trend for installation of active cooling systems in offices and homes, all expected to escalate with climate change. Therefore, there is pressing need to come up with scientific findings to address the urban climate issues in tropical countries. This chapter presents the main research findings reported in literature related to (a) understanding the factors influencing energy performance and thermal comfort in tropical climates, and (b) practical realisation of measures in the built environment, with reported outcomes. These findings are used to devise a roadmap for bettering energy performance and comfort in buildings in tropical contexts, while identifying research gaps.