Evaluation of urban climate through geometric indexes and thermal comfort: The case of Ankara city

Thermal comfort is defined as the climatic conditions in which a person adapts to his/her environment with minimum energy expenditure and feels comfortable and healthy. Urban geometry, as the way in which building masses of different densities and sizes and vegetation come together, is a concept that directly affects insolation and shapes thermal comfort. In this thesis, it is aimed to evaluate the physical configuration and climatic conditions formed by the combination of structural areas and spaces at different spatial scales, and to determine the relationship between the typological structure and thermal load of the urban area through the thermal comfort index (PET). At the urban scale, the settlement texture of Ankara City, and at the local scale, Kızılırmak, Çukurambar and Balgat regions were determined as the study area. Studies at the city scale include the stages of determining the settlement patterns with high thermal load in Ankara City through the relationship between Local Climate Zones (LCZ) and land surface temperature with the WUDAPT "Level-0" technique. Local scale studies consist of comparative analysis stages of thermal comfort (PET) changing in the interaction of geometric indexes and meteorological parameters (temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, pressure, solar radiation) defined using the WUDAPT "Level-1" technique. As a result, it has been determined that the LCZ classes without green fabric and with compact structural configuration have higher surface temperatures than the LCZ classes with green fabric and open configuration. These results reveal the effect of the close proximity of buildings in residential areas and the lack of vegetation on the formation of urban heat islands. According to the results obtained at the local scale, geometric indices have an effect on thermal conditions by changing the angle of incidence of solar radiation to the city, wind flow speed and orientation. This thesis study emphasizes the importance of meteorological data in urban planning and design processes for the development of approaches to improve urban climate.