Designing for pedestrian comfort in response to local climate

The paper describes methodologies for microclimate assessment and provides strategies for master planners and building designers to create pedestrian comfort conditions that are more responsive to the local climate. The development of these strategies always starts with a detailed analysis of local meteorological data, focusing on the correlation between wind and other weather parameters. The influences of wind conditions on other microclimate issues are illustrated by selected case studies. In these case studies, scale-model wind tunnel testing and CFD modeling are used to predict the wind flow fields around the built environment, as well as the associated outdoor thermal comfort, air ventilation, snow accumulation, rain infiltration and other microclimate conditions.