ISSN 2375-0707
African Journal of Environmental Economics and Management ISSN 2375-0707 Vol. 4 (2), pp. 255-265, February, 2016. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
A study of how tall buildings influence climatic factors and the need to create a different microclimate in a district
Serour Abdeslam
Senior Lecturer, Architecture Department, University of Chlef, Algeria.
E-mail: [email protected]
Accepted 12 December, 2015
Abstract
The gradual change of climatic factors in a large agglomeration is primarily related to the expansion of urbanization. The construction of high-rise districts is currently in fashion worldwide, in part because high-rise buildings provide an image of prestige and prosperity for the country. However, the essential purpose of constructing high-rise buildings is to group together a large community in a restricted space. The aim of this study is to understand how tall buildings influence climatic factors and create a different microclimate in the district. This study is based on a 4-year series of measurements of the influence of the high-rise district of La Défense in Paris, France on climatic factors and air-pollution patterns. The results show that the construction of high-rise district creates a microclimate having higher temperatures than otherwise. Thus, high-rises tend to reinforce the phenomenon of urban heat islands. The construction of high-rises also has advantages as shown in this study, the upper-floor quarters benefit from natural air conditioning and a lower concentration of pollution. The construction and management of high-rise districts within cities is thus very important, and can generally lead to ecosystems with microclimates that are more favourable to urban dwellers
Key words: impact, tall buildings, climatic factors, air pollution.