Urban geometry, building energy consumption and pedestrian mobility: An integrated modeling approach

The spatial layout of an urban system has important effects on the indoor cooling load and outdoor thermal comfort especially for regions with extreme hot weather. These effects, however, are difficult to analyze in the presence of human adaptation to thermal stress. This paper presents an integrated model to analyze the effects of urban geometry on indoor cooling load and outdoor thermal comfort taking into accounts urban heat island effects and pedestrian adaptation to thermal stress. We apply the model to study downtown Abu Dhabi city and the Masdar city of the United Arab Emirates. Sensitivity analysis shows optimal urban design parameters that improve energy efficiency and pedestrian health in this region.