Climate Comfort Due to Spatial Organization: A Major Factor of Urban Resilience in Complex Gentrification Nodes in New Urban Communities

Abstract

Gentrification nodes act as city centers in new urban communities where people can work, meet, eat, and exchange. The spatial organization of these nodes, considered complex adaptive systems, is a crucial factor in achieving climate comfort. This paper aims to demonstrate how the spatial organization of these nodes affects their microclimate comfort and can accordingly lead to their spatial resilience. Four predominant gentrification nodes, located in New Cairo and Sheikh Zayed, were selected, playing an essential role in the Egyptian real estate market and affecting urban dynamics in both areas. We argue that their spatial organization and how it affects climate comfort play a crucial role in their urban resilience. We believe that the climate comfort they offer will help them keep attracting the same socioeconomic categories of the population despite the changes in the real estate market and the displacement of urban anchors. Moreover, the findings highlighted that climate comfort, as a component of urban resilience, can be used to acknowledge the behavior of these nodes in the urban fabric. These findings were supported by simulations, interviews with the owners, the architect, and the users’ “closed-ended” questionnaire. The results show that the spatial resilience of two of these nodes is effectively related to climate comfort and the spatial organization that corresponds to users’ needs. Moreover, the results underline that in the case of linear nodes, building massing and materials with high albedo should be considered, as in the multiaxial nodes, the aspect of ratio dimensions and orientation of the space should be well studied.