Search

The conservation of cultural heritage is a well-established fact recognized by public administrations, the scientific community, and society at large. Understanding this heritage strengthens the historical memory of communities. However, there is a type of heritage that, as it disappears or evolves over time, cannot be physically recovered: the urban fabric of historic cores. This article aims to implement a system for integrating historical urban data into a Geographic Information System (GIS) to enable the graphic recovery of urban evolution within a territory. This system facilitates the storage of alphanumeric and graphic data in a centralized database, providing a holistic view of the transformation process of a historic center's landscape. This case study focuses on an area in the historic center of Valencia, a territory influenced by multiple cultures since the city was founded by the Romans. Each culture has altered the spatial structures within the area. Georeferenced documents from historical archives, historical cartography, and the scientific literature were utilized for this study. The results have been integrated into the current cartography of Valencia in the GIS, producing plans of successive urban stages through the overlay of historical maps and current cartography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conservation of cultural heritage is a well-established fact recognized by public administrations, the scientific community, and society at large. Understanding this heritage strengthens the historical memory of communities. However, there is a type of heritage that, as it disappears or evolves over time, cannot be physically recovered: the urban fabric of historic cores. This article aims to implement a system for integrating historical urban data into a Geographic Information System (GIS) to enable the graphic recovery of urban evolution within a territory. This system facilitates the storage of alphanumeric and graphic data in a centralized database, providing a holistic view of the transformation process of a historic center’s landscape. This case study focuses on an area in the historic center of Valencia, a territory influenced by multiple cultures since the city was founded by the Romans. Each culture has altered the spatial structures within the area. Georeferenced documents from historical archives, historical cartography, and the scientific literature were utilized for this study. The results have been integrated into the current cartography of Valencia in the GIS, producing plans of successive urban stages through the overlay of historical maps and current cartography.

Debris flows pose serious risks to communities in mountainous areas, often resulting in large losses of human life and property. The impeding presence of urban buildings often affects the runout behavior and deposition of debris flows. But the impact of different building densities and sizes on debris flow dynamics has yet to be quantified to guide urban planning in debris flow risk zones. This study focused on a debris flow that occurred in Zhouqu County, Gansu Province, China on August 7th, 2010, which was catastrophic and destroyed many buildings. The FLO-2D software was used to simulate this debris flow in two scenarios, i.e. the presence and the absence of buildings, to obtain debris-flow intensity parameters. The developed model was then used to further analyze the influence of large buildings and narrow channels within the urban environment. The simulation results show that considering the presence of buildings in the simulation is essential for accurate assessment of debris flow intensity and deposition distribution. The layout of buildings in the upstream urban area, such as large buildings or parallel buildings which form narrow channels, can affect the flow velocity and depth of debris flow heading towards downstream buildings. To mitigate damage to downstream buildings, the relative spacing (d/a) between upstream and downstream buildings should not exceed a value of two and should ideally be even lower. These findings provide valuable insights for improving the resistance of mountainous cities to urban debris flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the history and, most importantly, the spatial development and the urban layout of the town of Zaklików. Zaklików is an early-modern-period town founded in 1565 by Stanisław Zaklika of the coat of arms of Topór, probably on previously undeveloped land on the border of the Lublin Upland and the Sandomierz Basin, in Solska Forest. The town was founded on the basis of a charter issued by King Sigismund II Augustus.

Compactification of cities, i.e., the opposite of urban sprawl, has been increasingly presented in the literature as a possible solution to reduce the carbon footprint and promote the sustainability of current urban environments. Compact environments have higher concentrations of interaction opportunities, smaller distances to them, and the potential for increased active mode shares, leading to less transport-related energy consumption and associated emissions. This article presents a GIS-based quantitative methodology to estimate on how much can be gained in that respect if vacant spaces within a city were urbanized, according to the municipal master plan, using four indicators: accessibility, active modal share, transport energy consumption, and a 15-minute city analysis. The methodology is applied to a case study, in which the city of Coimbra, Portugal, and a compact version of itself are compared. Results show the compact layout improves all indicators, with averages per inhabitant improving by 20% to 92%, depending on the scenario assumed for cycling, and is more equitable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turbulence models are crucial for simulating urban pollutant dispersion by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of steady-state and unsteady-state Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes simulation (SRANS/URANS) and large-eddy simulation (LES) in calculating air pollutant dispersion in street canyons with generic and real urban layouts. For each layout, wind tunnel experiments with measured wind speed and pollutant concentration were available as benchmarks. In addition, instantaneous concentration fields were analyzed to assess the transient models. The results showed that in both generic and real urban layouts, the RNG k − ε model and SST k − ω model provided similar results for time-averaged wind speed and concentration distributions in SRANS and URANS simulations. LES performed the best in calculating wind speed and pollutant dispersion. In a generic urban layout, URANS with the SST k − ω model captured large-scale fluctuations, while instantaneous results from URANS with the SST k − ω model did not change over time in a real urban layout. SRANS/URANS with the SST k − ω model can provide acceptable results for time-averaged pollutant concentration fields in a generic urban layout with simple building shapes and placements. However, for real urban layouts, the LES approach is the most accurate way to calculate air pollutant dispersion. • SRANS, URANS and LES simulations were conducted and evaluated. • A building array and a real urban layout were selected as the target urban layouts. • Large-scale fluctuations were only observed in the generic urban layout. • SRANS/URANS with the SST k − ω model provide acceptable results in the building array. • LES model performed best in real urban layouts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present investigation, we study the influence of conventual foundations on the origin of the urban layout of two of the first cities in the Spanish colonization of America: Santo Domingo (1502) and Panama Viejo (1519), examples of early colonial urbanism. Starting with cartography and historical bibliography, as well as recent studies on their urban evolution and using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for graphic representation, a comparative study is carried out between both cities divided into stages of urban expansion until their consolidation (or disappearance in the case of Panama in 1671). We have been able to verify how, in Santo Domingo, the religious orders settled on the outskirts of the city, marking the axes of expansion as an instrument of control and consolidation of an urban layout closer to the idea of a grid, which will materialize more precisely in later cities. Meanwhile, in Panama Viejo, the city was formed longitudinally on the streets occupied by the convents, which served as the main axes that defined the urban design of the city. This article aims to demonstrate the importance of the role of religious power in the formation of the cities presented here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the urban heritage protection and spatial development policies of two model historical urban centres in Poland, whose spatial layout has been erased: medieval Świecie nad Wisłą (the Pomeranian region) and Renaissance Krasiczyn (the Subcarpathian region). Their urban layouts had a significant compositional factor (a town and castle complex in axial plan). The second element important in terms of landscape protection and spatial planning is their history: at the end of the eighteenth century and during the nineteenth century they had to be relocated. The analysis covers the spatial form during the period of their founding, the reasons for transformation, their present-day state of preservation, and the current spatial conservation and development policy. General conservation conclusions have also been formulated.

The debate on the ideal urban layout, or form has long been an active topic of research. As cities expand and population demands rise, the quest for efficient and sustainable urban designs gains greater significance, necessitating objective and quantitative evaluation of their performance. This article adds to the debate by presenting a multicriteria analysis of city performance, based on quantitative indicators obtainable from geographic information systems calculations, which focus on sustainability and physical pleasantness issues. Indicator values were derived for a real city, its infill version, and five redrafts as classic city models existing in the literature. The city layouts were then compared using the TOPSIS multicriteria ranking method, results showing a preference for the more compact urban layouts due to the multiple advantages of having shorter distances between supply and demand points. The methodology provides quantitative insights on city performance and efficiency and can be used to compare options for city expansions or major urban regeneration projects. [Display omitted] • A multicriteria methodology for assessing city performance is presented. • Quantitative indicators related to sustainability and pleasantness are proposed. • A comparative study benchmarked a real city with classic urban models using TOPSIS. • Results favor compact urban layouts. • Provides policymakers with quantitative analysis tools for urban planning decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a comparative accessibility study between a real city and its redraft as a Garden City. The benchmarking methodology involves defining and evaluating a location-based accessibility indicator in a GIS environment for the city of Coimbra, Portugal, and for the same city laid out as a Garden City, with the same number of inhabitants, jobs, and similar number of urban facilities. The results are derived as maps and weighted average distances per inhabitant to the facilities and jobs, and show that, for the Garden City, average distances drop to around 500 m for urban facilities and 1500 m for the combination of facilities and jobs, making much of the city accessible by walking and practically the whole of it accessible by cycling, with positive impact on transport sustainability and accessibility equity. The methodology can be extended to other benchmarking indicators and city layouts, and the quantitative results it yields make a valuable contribution to the debate on the ideal layout of cities. Moreover, it gives directions on how to improve real cities to address current and future sustainability concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Archeologia dell'Architettura is the property of Edizioni all'Insegna del Giglio and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Compactification of cities, i.e., the opposite of urban sprawl, has been increasingly presented in the literature as a possible solution to reduce the carbon footprint and promote the sustainability of current urban environments. Compact environments have higher concentrations of interaction opportunities, smaller distances to them, and the potential for increased active mode shares, leading to less transport-related energy consumption and associated emissions. This article presents a GIS-based quantitative methodology to estimate on how much can be gained in that respect if vacant spaces within a city were urbanized, according to the municipal master plan, using four indicators: accessibility, active modal share, transport energy consumption, and a 15-minute city analysis. The methodology is applied to a case study, in which the city of Coimbra, Portugal, and a compact version of itself are compared. Results show the compact layout improves all indicators, with averages per inhabitant improving by 20% to 92%, depending on the scenario assumed for cycling, and is more equitable.

This note considers a Late Roman bath building recently discovered in Durrës, Albania (ancient Dyrrachium), near the presumed Roman city center. This discovery is particularly interesting given our limited knowledge of the urban layout and of bathhouses during this important phase of the city. Despite the limited scope of the excavations, the layout of the complex, as well as certain architectural characteristics, suggests the use of design principles based on Imperial baths. The exclusive use of bricks is significant for this area in Late Antiquity. The imposing monumentality of the structures is comparable to baths in cities with Imperial authority. In the absence of stratified layers linked to this structure, moldmade marks on the bricks and decorative features from the marble facing provide a chronological window between the last quarter of the 4th c. and around the middle of the 5th c. CE for its construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present investigation, we study the influence of conventual foundations on the origin of the urban layout of two of the first cities in the Spanish colonization of America: Santo Domingo (1502) and Panama Viejo (1519), examples of early colonial urbanism. Starting with cartography and historical bibliography, as well as recent studies on their urban evolution and using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for graphic representation, a comparative study is carried out between both cities divided into stages of urban expansion until their consolidation (or disappearance in the case of Panama in 1671). We have been able to verify how, in Santo Domingo, the religious orders settled on the outskirts of the city, marking the axes of expansion as an instrument of control and consolidation of an urban layout closer to the idea of a grid, which will materialize more precisely in later cities. Meanwhile, in Panama Viejo, the city was formed longitudinally on the streets occupied by the convents, which served as the main axes that defined the urban design of the city. This article aims to demonstrate the importance of the role of religious power in the formation of the cities presented here.

This article analyses the urban heritage protection and spatial development policies of two model historical urban centres in Poland, whose spatial layout has been erased: medieval Świecie nad Wisłą (the Pomeranian region) and Renaissance Krasiczyn (the Subcarpathian region). Their urban layouts had a significant compositional factor (a town and castle complex in axial plan). The second element important in terms of landscape protection and spatial planning is their history: at the end of the eighteenth century and during the nineteenth century they had to be relocated. The analysis covers the spatial form during the period of their founding, the reasons for transformation, their present-day state of preservation, and the current spatial conservation and development policy. General conservation conclusions have also been formulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the role of expropriation regulations and concession cases in remodeling the plot of precolonial Algiers. It also examines its consequences on domestic architecture. Urban development undertaken during the nineteenth century in the Casbah of Algiers resulted in the first settlement of the colonial city. The transformation of the old street network and the opening of streets through existing constructions were essentially based on declarations of public utility for expropriation. As a result of this regulation, there was an increase in requests for the concession of public land, allowing owners to rebuild according to the new alignments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban bus stops have been identified as hotspots for particulate matter due to intense vehicle activities, including acceleration from standstill, this poses a risk of short-term exposure to high levels of pollution for residents who wait for buses during their daily commute. In order to provide constructive and scientific recommendations for the placement of bus stops from the perspective of regional architectural layout, we conducted a comparative observational experiment in Guangzhou to investigate the exposure to ultrafine particle (UFP) at bus stations with different building layouts. Our study found that there was a significant interaction between the urban layout and vehicle activities of bus stations with 99% confidence level. The average level of UFP pollution at the street canyon bus stations was 48.2 10 3 pt ccm − 1 in the afternoon. Pedestrians waiting at the bus stations built in the street canyon could be exposed to excessive UFP levels (higher than 30.0 10 3 pt ccm − 1) during 82.2% of the waiting time. Compared to the park, the UFP concentration at the bus station in the canyon was found to be more responsive to changes in traffic volume, and the diffusion of UFP was more dependent on meteorological conditions, according to the results of grey relational analysis. However, near the park, there was no significant difference in UFP levels with and without the bus station. Based on our findings, we recommend that the department of urban planning and design consider creating a more open diffusion environment when setting up bus stops to reduce the risk of exposure to high level of UFP pollution. [Display omitted] • Urban bus stops are hotspots for UPF due to intense vehicle activities. • Pedestrians at street canyon bus stops exposed to excessive UFP 82.2% of the time. • UFP at street canyon bus stops react more to traffic and meteorological changes. • Open environment can reduce UFP risk at bus stops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy and environmental benefits due to the solar radiation availability in the urban contexts are very important for the microclimate and the environmental quality of cities, where spatial distribution and dimensions of buildings play a fundamental role. Understanding the effects produced by different building volumes is an important aspect and the solar access analysis represents the specific field of study. The study proposes a design methodology, developing a framework with criteria, aspects and example applications, with the aim to evaluate the energy effects related to the different volumetric configurations.

A performance-driven sustainable urban design is an important step in adapting to local climates and improving outdoor comfort level. This study proposed investigating an urban layout optimization method, validated in an urban area in Shenyang City, a cold region, that comprises nine urban blocks. This study selected an urban block type and street width as optimization input indices and defined the percentage of acceptable universal thermal comfort index (UTCI) range as the objective. The genetic algorithm is applied to optimize and generate an urban block to maximize the percentage of acceptable UTCI range at urban block level and street level. When the comfort level is set as −17–20 °C, optimization can achieve 87.7% of acceptable UTCI in the urban block level and 90.3% at urban street level. To attain an urban layout with higher than 85% acceptable UTCI range, results found, in a cold region, multistory blocks are more suitable than high-rise blocks and open spaces; it would be better to place multistory blocks with high building enclosures on the north side to block cold wind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Present-day West African towns allow us to study how urban space developed in this region. The urban street networks and layout of residential quarters to some extent preserve the possible movement patterns of pre-colonial urbanites. Long-distance trade, in what is ultimately a liminal and transitory locale, linked the urban nodes on the "coast" of the Sahara. This article takes a closer look on the distribution of streets and quarters as a unique kind of material heritage, as well as major trade routes, which linked into the towns. Analyses of the historic towns of Timbuktu and Djenne in Mali are used to demonstrate how the relationships between trade and urban residents were enacted in space. The structuring of the two towns put them in context with the tradition of dual settlements in West Africa, also finding parallels with the role of urban quarters in merchant towns of the East African coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vehicular communication systems play an important role in the context of smart cities. Different applications are being proposed and evaluated to improve our daily driving in terms of safety and convenience. These applications require efficient data dissemination that guarantees full coverage with minimum overhead and delay. Existing data dissemination protocols often rely on extra communication to gather knowledge about the neighborhood and set the dissemination criteria accordingly. This extra communication poses serious overhead issues that affect the scalability of data dissemination, which is an essential criterion under high density scenarios. In this paper, we propose and evaluate an Efficient multi-directional Data Dissemination Protocol (EDDP), which considers the requirements of an urban vehicular environment without requiring the extra communication overhead. We rely only on simple local data to indicate the road condition for better dissemination performance. In this paper, the design considerations of urban layout include message format, broadcast suppression mechanism, and delay control. The EDDP utilizes the properties of the received messages along with positioning information to make decisions on suppressing broadcasts, with the objective of improving coverage in different directions without unnecessary transmissions. Simulation results show that the EDDP can effectively disseminate traffic data with a high data delivery ratio and a minimized overhead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy and environmental benefits due to the solar radiation availability in the urban contexts are very important for the microclimate and the environmental quality of cities, where spatial distribution and dimensions of buildings play a fundamental role. Understanding the effects produced by different building volumes is an important aspect and the solar access analysis represents the specific field of study. The study proposes a design methodology, developing a framework with criteria, aspects and example applications, with the aim to evaluate the energy effects related to the different volumetric configurations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Thiasos Monografie is the property of Edizioni Quasar di Severino Tognon s.r.l. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Thiasos Monografie is the property of Edizioni Quasar di Severino Tognon s.r.l. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper examines the spatial relations between the principal public squares in Latin Famagusta and the architecture of the major Latin and Greek churches which dominated them. The study uses historical and archaeological records to reconstruct parts of fourteenth-century Famagusta's urban layout and uses a method called perspectival logic to demonstrate that the plan of the city's streets and piazzas was not a result of chaotic, ad hoc decisions. Rather, it was consciously designed to shape the lived experience of those present in the city. It enforced social hierarchies and created public spaces that addressed the commercial and religious needs of the city's diverse urban society. Pedestrians crossing Famagusta's piazzas were offered favorable views of religious monuments, which strengthened the public reception of the religious messages conveyed through their architecture. The shape of each piazza facilitated the fluency of pedestrian movement and manipulated its direction, so that areas located close to external galleries of Famagusta's churches were secluded from daily traffic. This made these spaces suitable for outdoor preaching, on occasions such as St. Bridget of Sweden's delivery of public sermons to the inhabitants of Famagusta in 1372. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural ventilation and the use of fans are recognized as sustainable design strategies to reduce energy use while reaching thermal comfort. A big challenge for designers is to predict ventilation rates of buildings in dense urban areas. One significant factor for calculating the ventilation rate is the wind pressure coefficient (Cp). Cp values can be obtained at a high cost, via real measurements, wind tunnel experiments, or high computational effort via computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation. A fast surrogate model to predict Cp for a schematic urban environment is required for the integration in building performance simulations. There are well-known surrogate models for Cp. The average surface pressure coefficient model integrated in EnergyPlus considers only a box-shaped building, without surrounding buildings. CpCalc, a surrogate model for Cp, considers only one height of neighbouring buildings. The Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek (TNO) Cp Generator model was available via web interface, and could include several box-shaped buildings in the surrounding area. These models are complex for fast integration in a natural ventilation simulation. For optimization processes, with thousands of simulation runs, speed is even more essential. Our study proposes a new surrogate model for Cp estimation based on data obtained from the TNO CP Generator model. The new model considers the effect of different neighbouring buildings in a simplified urban configuration, with an orthogonal street pattern, box-shaped buildings, and repetitive dimensions. The developed surrogate model is fast, and can easily be integrated in a dynamic energy simulation tool like EnergyPlus for optimization of natural ventilation in the urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topography of the Tsarev settlement site, one of major Golden Horde monuments in the Lower Volga region, is analyzed. The first descriptions of the settlement refer to the second half of the 18th century, while the initial large-scale excavations on the monument were conducted in the mid-19th century. By that time, the scientific community had adhered to the opinion that the ruins of Sarai (the city mainly associated with the Tsarev settlement site) would stretch to a great distance from the Akhtuba river-head to Kolobovka village. The results of archaeological research of the 20th – early 21st century make it possible to challenge this view. To date, it is an established fact that the size of the actual urban area had constituted 5 x 2.2–2.3 km. The southern part of the city was occupied by the estates of the nobility, the central and northern parts were represented by trade and artisan quarters. Around the city, there were suburban cemeteries, including brick mausoleums (the ruins of which could be mistaken for the remains of dwellings in the 19th century), as well as the areas of irrigated agriculture.

A performance-driven sustainable urban design is an important step in adapting to local climates and improving outdoor comfort level. This study proposed investigating an urban layout optimization method, validated in an urban area in Shenyang City, a cold region, that comprises nine urban blocks. This study selected an urban block type and street width as optimization input indices and defined the percentage of acceptable universal thermal comfort index (UTCI) range as the objective. The genetic algorithm is applied to optimize and generate an urban block to maximize the percentage of acceptable UTCI range at urban block level and street level. When the comfort level is set as −17−20 °C, optimization can achieve 87.7% of acceptable UTCI in the urban block level and 90.3% at urban street level. To attain an urban layout with higher than 85% acceptable UTCI range, results found, in a cold region, multistory blocks are more suitable than high-rise blocks and open spaces; it would be better to place multistory blocks with high building enclosures on the north side to block cold wind.

This paper addresses a multi-objective facility location problem, concerning the location of noise-sensitive and noise-generating facilities in urban environments. To promote sustainable solutions, two main criteria are incorporated within the optimisation model: minimising total noise-threshold violation levels and the total system travel time on the underlying road network. A bi-level formulation is proposed, which is eventually re-formulated into a single-level model. The augmented ε -constraint method is implemented to yield non-dominated solutions. A Benders-Decomposition approach is proposed to handle large instances of the problem. Numerical tests highlight the effectiveness of the proposed solution method in designing the layout of urban regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Javanese cities, just like other Southeast Asian cities, are believed to be based on a cosmological layout. The basic of this layout is that there is a centre with the highest hierarchy, surrounded by circles with lower hierarchies, and axes. This layout can be seen as a practice of power in which it serves as a silent ideology (Bourdieu, 1977) that embodies social hierarchy. This article focuses on the ‘cosmological’ layout as a political space, in which a practice of power of the royal kingdoms or kratons is embodied. It focuses on the case studies of Javanese cities, namely Yogyakarta and Surakarta, which are recognised as the locus of Javanese culture at present. This paper seeks how different political power of the royal courts in both cities is reproduced in similar urban and architectural layouts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska, Sectio F: Historia is the property of Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

• The effect of urban layout on the floodwater intrusion rate variation is identified. • Urban density has an effect on the flood intrusion rate. • Impact of urban neighbourhood layout on associated risk for pedestrians is revealed. • Instability experiment of a dummy qualitatively validates the simulation results. Urban neighbourhood layouts affect the flood intrusion rate towards residential buildings through various kinds of damaged openings (doors, windows, gates and shafts) and the associated risk for pedestrians within the urban building complex and ultimately the safety of indoor and outdoor pedestrians in urban flooding events. This study adopts computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to quantify the flood intrusion discharge towards residential buildings and evaluate the flood hazard rating of pedestrians within urban areas of divergent configurations in conjunction with a laboratory flume experiment regarding the stability/instability behaviour of a dummy model that represents a human body in a quasi-natural state. Five types of urban building layouts with three different building densities under three various floodwater conditions, including a determinant type A (see the graphic abstract hereafter), a point group type B, an enclosed type C, a hybrid type D and a new hybrid type E, are examined. The results show that the determinant type A and hybrid type D have a similar trend in terms of the flood intrusion discharge distributions towards each row of buildings and discharge variation with respect to urban building spacing, whereas other urban layouts exhibit different characteristics. Strong floodwater leads to an increased flood risk for pedestrians both outdoors and even indoors within various urban configurations: pedestrians are the most prone to toppling instability on the streets, in turn, behind the building and within the interior of the building. For both determinant type A and hybrid type D, the more pedestrians lie behind the building approaching the upstream, the safer the pedestrians become, while for point group type B, enclosed type C and new hybrid type E, the trend is reversed. The experimental results also offer a novel valuable dataset for the validation of other urban flooding numerical models. This study could be referred to by local authorities and stakeholders to take effective measures to improve the safety of pedestrians and mitigate flood risk in the context of urban planning and urban flood emergency management, such as strengthening flood-resilient urban facility designs and devising optimal routines for emergent evacuation of outdoor pedestrians. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural ventilation and the use of fans are recognized as sustainable design strategies to reduce energy use while reaching thermal comfort. A big challenge for designers is to predict ventilation rates of buildings in dense urban areas. One significant factor for calculating the ventilation rate is the wind pressure coefficient (Cp). Cp values can be obtained at a high cost, via real measurements, wind tunnel experiments, or high computational effort via computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation. A fast surrogate model to predict Cp for a schematic urban environment is required for the integration in building performance simulations. There are well-known surrogate models for Cp. The average surface pressure coefficient model integrated in EnergyPlus considers only a box-shaped building, without surrounding buildings. CpCalc, a surrogate model for Cp, considers only one height of neighbouring buildings. The Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek (TNO) Cp Generator model was available via web interface, and could include several box-shaped buildings in the surrounding area. These models are complex for fast integration in a natural ventilation simulation. For optimization processes, with thousands of simulation runs, speed is even more essential. Our study proposes a new surrogate model for Cp estimation based on data obtained from the TNO CP Generator model. The new model considers the effect of different neighbouring buildings in a simplified urban configuration, with an orthogonal street pattern, box-shaped buildings, and repetitive dimensions. The developed surrogate model is fast, and can easily be integrated in a dynamic energy simulation tool like EnergyPlus for optimization of natural ventilation in the urban areas.

Copyright of Commerce & Management Quarterly is the property of Chinese Association of Business & Management Technology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The need to save energy at the urban level leads to study how numerical simulations and optimization methods can help the architects to design buildings and districts with the best possible energetic performances, regarding daylight, warming or cooling, and photovoltaic capabilities. This work presents a study of solar potential maximization over a district and its relation with urban shape. For this purpose, two geometrical models are proposed. The first one is derived from the literature and describes a grid of buildings in open area; the second one studies moderately dense urban configurations with a pre-existent urban-context. A clear sky model is considered to compute direct solar radiation and an evolutionary algorithm is used to optimize the shape and the distribution of buildings inside a fixed area. Results show some clues on the optimal distribution of buildings considering the total direct solar irradiation to be captured by an urban district for various densities and compare the solar potential at different latitudes between 40° and 60°N. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]