Measuring the Impact of Urban Morphology on Urban Heat Islands in Cairo

Summary

Nowadays, global warming threatens the world, causing many consequences on the natural environment and human being. This consequence is translated into extreme weather events like melting the oceans, erosion, urban heat island. Experts advise taking actions regarding this phenomenon as they all related to each other.

The focus of the present proposal is on the urban heat island (UHI) which addressed by geographers and urban planners as one of the extreme heat weather exaggerating urbanisation. Literature widely describes UHI to refer to the increase in the temperature in the urbanised areas compared to the nearby zones. There are growing appeals for addressing the climatic changes challenges like UHI in international forums like Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Urban Agenda of Egypt 2030. In goal number 13 recommends taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impact.

Consequently, in this research project, we provide a deep understanding of such a phenomenon of UHI and analyse the effect of the urbanisation on its existence. Most of the western paradigms of urban heat island,  however, focused on explaining the impact of urban morphological approaches and studying the correlation between it and the existence of UHI phenomenon. Scanning relevant Egyptian literature does not in this area of knowledge is acknowledged in the context of Cairo. From this standpoint, urban heat island can be considered as foremost among challenges that the urban planner can address in urban agenda of today’s cities.

The concept of this project is recognised in two keywords: learn and exchange knowledge. Scientific methods could be applied to achieve this concept. It starts by having tuition modules to provide knowledge and skills for many participants of using the new techniques/methods applied in the spatial and ethnographic analysis. Our results expected to demonstrate the effect of the morphological factors on the UHI of the selected cases in Cairo. Second, exchanging the knowledge appears in organising workshops among early-career researchers and representative from the municipalities of Cairo. Exchanging knowledge also spreads to present a publication of the concluded results and providing an atlas of city profile includes spatial data of the cases.           

The methodology follows two approaches: empirical analysis and ethnographical. The spatial analysis includes the geographical methods using Erdas imagine and ENVI followed by the spatial analysis using the geographical information system (GIS) and space syntax. The expected outcome of this method is a detective and observatory of surface urban heat islands. In parallel, to verify the statically results from spatial investigated using field test specialised equipment measuring temperature changes during time. The ethnographical method uses the observation an interview scheduled with experts in urban heat island and urban morphologist to ranges the priorities of action regarding the factors affecting the UHI.   

The overall results provide a basis for profound guidelines of relieving the UHI in a wide range of examples from Cairo and put mitigation strategies. Also, the research at its final city profile (atlas) for an adaptive urban design approach dealing with the climatic change phenomenon.

Achievements

List of Publications from the Project

Partners

Project Members

• Amr Elbanhawy
• Samy Mohamed Zaky Afifi

Project Leaders