Walkable urbanism: a framework for thermally comfortable and walkable neighbourhoods in hot-arid climates

Alharbi, Fahad 2026. Walkable urbanism: a framework for thermally comfortable and walkable neighbourhoods in hot-arid climates. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

This thesis examines how spatial configuration, land use, and outdoor thermal comfort (OTC) jointly shape walking and walkability in three neighbourhoods of Buraydah, Saudi Arabia. It introduces a design tool to co-optimise walkability and OTC. Cities in hot-arid climate zones require neighbourhoods that are walkable and thermally comfortable; yet neighbourhood-scale walkability research has rarely integrated OTC. The study employs a mixed-methods, multi-scalar research design to investigate walking behaviour. It combines parameters of land use; spatial configuration using space syntax models; OTC morphology, such as Sky View Factor (SVF); microclimate measurements to estimate Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET); and perceptions, including thermal sensation and perceived walkability/OTC. The dataset comprises 318 resident surveys and systematic observations collected in the summer and early winter of 2023. Parameters are analysed at the street-segment scale and within a 10-minute (~800 m) walking catchment around each participant’s residence. Neighbourhood-scale integration (R800) predicts both observed and self-reported walking, especially where it aligns with mixed/retail land use. Its influence, however, depends on heat exposure: in streets with lower SVF and shading from trees or covered routes, accessibility translates into actual pedestrian use; in streets with high SVF and extensive hard paving, even highly accessible links attract fewer pedestrians. Street layout creates the potential for movement, but microclimate determines how much of that potential is realised. When heat stress increases (higher PET), perceived walking declines; yet activity can persist in socially critical commercial streets, indicating that people continue to use thermally hostile spaces. Those high-use but high-exposure streets, therefore, demand protection through shade, trees, and cooler surface materials if walking is to remain a viable and safe option. This thesis makes two contributions. First, it proposes a framework that links street design, land use, microclimate, and perceptions at both the street segment and 10 minute (~800 m) scales. Second, it develops the Thermal–Walkability Prioritisation Matrix, which ranks street segments by urgency of thermal–walkability improvement and recommends targeted interventions such as shade, trees, and lighter, more permeable surfaces, providing actionable guidance for urban designers in hot cities. Keywords: Walkability; Outdoor Thermal Comfort; Walking; Hot-arid Cities; PET.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Schools > Architecture
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	2 April 2026
Last Modified:	02 Apr 2026 15:03
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/186156

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