Street as an urban public space : an evaluation of livability in terms of thermal comfort

Abstract

Urban public space is the spirit of the civic life in a city; and is a common ground where people carry out the functional and ritual activities that bind a community, where in a normal routine of daily life or in periodic festivities. [Carr.et.al 1992]. The physical environment of those spaces must encourage and accommodate the diverse activities that the citizen's indulge in. As the elements of public spaces act an interwoven net of various functions which carries within itself a set of functional spaces to fulfill the needs of public life, it is the responsibility of the designer to handle the spaces accordingly. The spaces of urban public space are based on factors of which the level of thermal comfort is seen as an important component. Although life in the equatorial tropics is largely an outdoor phenomenon, modem urban development has by and large failed to facilitate such living in a climatically pleasant manner. The approach then should be an attempt to make the equatorial urban outdoors thermally comfortable. This dissertation would focus on the spaces in between buildings where people do gather, hang around and carry on their activities such as, walking, relaxing, meeting each other etc. hence, it has a major contribution to the public life of the people in the context. The research launches, 1. Shading performs as a positive element on the thermal comfort in urban areas. 2. The orientation can be comprehensively handled in order to achieve thermal comfort in outdoor spaces. 3. Ratio of building height to the width of the road can also be consciously modified or designed towards achieving the above. Hence, this dissertation would set off a research study which aims at developing climatically conscious urban patterns. At the same time this study would guide various paths of further studies as well.