Natural ventilation in urban areas : results of the European Project URBVENT Part 1: urban environment

Abstract

The application of natural ventilation is more difficult in urban than in rural environment, especially in street canyons due to reduced wind velocity, urban heat island, noise and pollution, which are considered to be important barriers to the application of natural ventilation. The wind, temperature, noise attenuation and outdoor-indoor pollution transfer were measured in a large range of variation and various types of urban configuration. The models obtained can be used in the initial stages of building design in order to assess the viability of natural ventilation in urban environment, especially in street canyons.