Towards Optimization of Urban Planning and Architectural Parameters for Energy use Minimization in Mediterranean Cities

Abstract

This paper reports observations and first experimental results from a field measurement campaign at the neighbourhood/urban scale, which was conducted in July 2010 in Nicosia (Cyprus) under the European Research Project TOPEUM funded by ERA-NET (Urban-Net Call). The ultimate goal of this work is to investigate the influence of urban design and architectural parameters in the resulting urban climate and the resulting energy usage. The field measurement campaign was carried out in the capital city of Cyprus, Nicosia, reflecting a typical Mediterranean city both in relation to buildings architecture and fabrics, street geometry and neighbourhood morphology. The field measurements include meteorological measurements as well as on-ground and aerial thermography, covering a range of spatial scales, from local-street canyon to meso-scale. The measurements record the meteorology, the thermal response of the buildings in the field site area and the resulting local microclimate particularly in the street.