Transient thermal aeraulic conditions and walkability of in-between spaces. Case of Mediterranean streets.

ALI SMAIL, Sabah (2025) Transient thermal aeraulic conditions and walkability of in-between spaces. Case of Mediterranean streets. Doctoral thesis, Université Mohamed Khider Biskra.

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Abstract

The effects of climate change are rapidly emerging in urban areas. Today’s Mediterranean cities, Algeria included, are the most vulnerable to draught, increased frequency of heatwave and prolonged warm conditions, impacting both the climate, outdoor activities and public health. The vulnerability of the Mediterranean populations to heat-related risks is alarmingly increasing. Consequently, outdoor activities, walking in specific, and pedestrian’s well-being are threatened. Walking activity is more affected by heat stress due to the prolonged exposure in addition to metabolic heat production from the physical activity of walking. Although individuals are capable of sustaining heat balance, increasing heat loads from solar exposure and metabolic heat production can severely deteriorate the thermoregulatory process. During the walking activity, the body stores heat due to an imbalance between heat gain and heat and in absence of adequate heat mitigation devices, thermal exposure may be ‘uncompensable’ when the human body is enabled to offset the required heat loss, resulting in continuous heat accumulation and increase core temperature. Continuous imbalance in heat storage and heat dissipation could result in significant heat related issues such as fatigue, heat exhaustion, to life risking cardiovascular stress and heat stroke. The extent of which these risks are to increase in the near future is dependent on the adaptive strategies and resilience of the Mediterranean cities to offset the consequences of global warming. While walking is the most impacted by the climate change, it could play a significant role in reshaping its intensity. Walkability is essential in promoting sustainable cities facing the climate change, however, walking is significantly impacted by the microclimate. Reconciling the dual challenge of addressing walkability to mitigate climate change, and mitigating climate change to walk emphasizes the significance of promoting resilient walkability. To this end, resilience highlights the need to design urban spaces able to adapt to rising urban heat, allowing pedestrians to tolerate and recover from discomfort conditions. The use of adaptive spatial configurations can enhance environmental diversity, ensuring a wide range of climate-resilient solutions that could play an important role in providing comfortable and resilient walking experience by enabling tolerance and recovery form thermal stress. The aim of this study is to gain a better knowledge of how environmental diversity influence the walking experience with the aim of gaining insights of how to create climate- II resilient street configuration able to enhance pedestrian’s resilience and walking experience. This study investigates transient thermal aeraulic conditions and walkability of In-between spaces within the Mediterranean streets, in the Context of Algiers Casbah. specifically, the current study focuses on the “Sabat”, a traditional in-between space at ground level serving as short-covered passages in Algiers Casbah, that is also widely spread in the Mediterranean region, and its distribution in generating transient thermal aeraulic conditions, and its potential in supporting a positive walking experience. Walkability is addressed from a pedestrian-centered approach, investigating the influence of environmental diversity on the dynamic walking experience. Thermal walks were carried out in Casbah of Algiers during winter and summer conditions, in the context of uphill walking. Mobile meteorological measurements were conducted inside Sabats and non-covered streets within two walking routes with different Sabats distribution to undergo comparative analysis. Simultaneously, dynamic changes of pedestrians’ subjective experience were recorded, mainly pleasure and fatigue sensation. Overlaying and cross-analyzing environmental monitoring and subjective pedestrian responses through statistical analysis made it possible to describe variations, detect variance and correlational relationships as well as tracking the lag effect between changes in environmental conditions and changes in pedestrian’s experience. The obtained results reveal a significant correlation between transient thermal aeraulic conditions and reduced fatigue sensation despite up-hill walking, hence a positive walking experience. Such findings highlight the importance of supporting in-between spaces in designing climate-resilient outdoor spaces. They provide valuable insights for enhancing the walking experience in traditional cities with similar context to Algiers Casbah. A strategic implementation of Sabat design would be crucial in creating adaptive and restorative opportunities for resilient walking amidst climate change challenges. These interventions can extend resilient design strategies to all urban areas, including historical cities, promoting social equity and inclusiveness in city planning as well as creating urban environments that are not only walkable but also culturally resonant.

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