Urban growth and pedestrian thermal comfort

Melbourne is the second largest city in Australia, and its population is anticipated to reach 6.5 million by 2050. In October 2013, Plan Melbourne was released by Victorian government, aiming to intensify several districts to protect the suburbs from urban sprawl. The City of Melbourne’s draft municipal strategic statement identified City North as a great urban renewal area which can accommodate a significant part of the growth. Given the previous heat-related incidence in Melbourne in 2009, the potential threat to human health and pedestrian comfort will be exacerbated, if planning professionals exclude climatic conscious urban design in their practices. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of the future structural plans on the microclimate and pedestrian thermal comfort in City North through numerical simulations. A three dimensional numerical modelling system, ENVI-met was used for the simulation. Field measurements were conducted across the study area to validate the simulated outputs. A clear reduction was reported in the average daytime mean radiant temperature, surface temperature and PMV values after implementing “Plan Melbourne” strategies. The outcomes of this study will assist urban planners in developing the policies which can effectively decrease the vulnerability to the heat stress at pedestrian level.