Energy-Efficient Urban Design Proposal in Urban Heat Island Formation: The Case of CSA Climate

Abstract

Nowadays, unplanned construction resulting from urban growth and population increase reduces the resilience of cities and their historical texture and increases the need for buildings for housing in cities. This situation, which increases the density/height of city buildings, increases the surface temperature and reduces the green tissue, causes urban heat island. In this study, the Dumlupinar neighbourhood of Balıkesir, which attracts attention with its historical texture and where new buildings are designed in certain parts today, will be discussed. First, the areas with traditional and new buildings in the region are modelled parametrically in the Rhino/Grasshopper interface, obtained and compared through Dragonfly software and an urban prototype is created. However, in the computational design algorithms to be performed, not only today's weather scenario but also the weather scenario of 2050 was used. Models were created to minimise the urban heat island in 2050 climate conditions. This urban prototype is a proposal for sustainable cities to be built in cities in CSA climate types (Mediterranean climate). This proposal will guide municipalities in designing energy-efficient and carbon-neutral cities using the urban model of the urban heat island effect. © 2025 Institute of Physics Publishing. All rights reserved.