Revealing Urban Morphology and Outdoor Comfort through Genetic Algorithm-Driven Urban Block Design in Dry and Hot Regions of China

Xu, Xiaodong; Yin, Chenhuan; Wang, Wei; Xu, Ning; Hong, Tianzhen; Li, Qi

doi:10.3390/su11133683

Title: Revealing Urban Morphology and Outdoor Comfort through Genetic Algorithm-Driven Urban Block Design in Dry and Hot Regions of China

Journal Article · 04 July 2019 · Sustainability (Basel)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su11133683 · OSTI ID:1581071

Xu, Xiaodong ^[1]; Yin, Chenhuan ^[2]; Wang, Wei ^[1]; Xu, Ning ^[1]; Hong, Tianzhen ^[3]; Li, Qi ^[1]

Southeast Univ., Nanjing (China)
China Overseas Property, Zhengzhou (China)
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

In areas with a dry and hot climate, factors such as strong solar radiation, high temperature, low humidity, dazzling light, and dust storms can tremendously reduce people’s thermal comfort. Therefore, researchers are paying more attention to outdoor thermal comfort in urban environments as part of urban design. This study proposed an automatic workflow to optimize urban spatial forms with the aim of improvement of outdoor thermal comfort conditions, characterized by the universal thermal climate index (UTCI). A city with a dry and hot climate—Kashgar, China—is further selected as an actual case study of an urban block and Rhino & Grasshopper is the platform used to conduct simulation and optimization process with the genetic algorithm. Results showed that in summer, the proposed method can reduce the averaged UTCI from 31.17 to 27.43 °C, a decrease of about 3.74 °C, and reduce mean radiation temperature (MRT) from 43.94 to 41.29 °C, a decrease of about 2.65 °C.

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Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Natural Science Foundation of China (NNSFC); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE); USDOE Office of Science (SC)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231

OSTI ID:: 1581071

Journal Information:: Sustainability (Basel), Journal Name: Sustainability (Basel) Journal Issue: 13 Vol. 11; ISSN SUSTDE; ISSN 2071-1050

Publisher:: MDPICopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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