Study and characterization of thermal comfort in outdoor public spaces: case study "city of Annaba"

Abstract

The comfort issue touches several domains such as the psychic and the physical, like  olfactory, visual, and thermal comfort. The latter has a strong relationship with the outdoor public space, because thermal well-being defines the quality of life of the user. In this perspective, our work is conducted to identify the impact of different thermal factors and conditions on the microclimate. Furthermore, it aims to study the difference between the microclimatic parameters influencing thermal comfort in outdoor public spaces, and those taken from the meteorological station. The method adopted for this research is based on the comparison between the climatic data recorded in the meteorological station of the airport "Rabah Bitat" of Annaba, that it is located in a low concentration urban environment, and the climatic measurements taken in various stations in the areas of studies (revolution course, square of el Houria, Boukhatouta Houcine garden), which are located right in the city center, using a thermal hygrometer, and a thermo-anemometer. These data represent the measurements of an average of 03 typical summer days in August. The results obtained confirm the difference between the thermal comfort in an urban environment and the thermal environment in a low urban environment.