Evaluation of Sustainable Urban Design With a Focus on Spatial Organization and Climatic Analysis

ABSTRACT

The urban heat island (UHI) effect increases with the growth of cities and population. This situation triggers global climate change, and cities are negatively affected by this situation. In this study, five provinces (Antalya, Gaziantep, Bursa, Kayseri, and Erzurum) located in different climate zones in Turkey were selected as samples. Integration maps were created with the Space Syntax method, and densely used areas were determined. Microclimatic analyses of these areas were performed with ENVI‐met software. As a result, the UHI effect is at a high level in areas with high integration value due to traffic and building density. Cooling designs are recommended in hot climate regions, and heating‐specific plans are recommended in cold climate regions. In addition, increasing green areas in these dense areas will contribute to the improvement of thermal comfort. The study also emphasizes that the climatic characteristics of cities should be taken into account in the design processes. Unlike previous studies that examined spatial configuration and microclimate separately, this study integrates Space Syntax and ENVI‐met within a comparative multi‐climate framework across five distinct climate zones, demonstrating that highly integrated urban areas are also microclimatically vulnerable, thus offering a novel basis for climate‐responsive urban design.