Impact of Building Dimensions and Setbacks around Buildings on the Sky-View Factor of a Regulated Residential Urban Canyon in India

Abstract

The climatic conditions in urban areas are affected by man-made features, including buildings. Building geometry determines the sky-view factor (SVF) of a canyon. A higher SVF is necessary to mitigate the urban heat island (UHI) effect, whereas a lower SVF enhances pedestrian thermal comfort during summer days. However, variations in building dimensions and spaces between buildings are dictated by local building regulations, limiting the options available to urban designers. This study investigates aspects of urban planning policies and aims to understand the impacts of varying building dimensions and setbacks surrounding buildings on the SVF measured at the midpoint. The SVF of several idealized urban canyons, representing regulated residential development in India with permitted variations in building dimensions and setbacks, was estimated using a vector-based method. The results indicate that development with detached housing featuring identical buildings and maintaining a straight building line exhibited a higher SVF. Furthermore, multiple regression analysis revealed that building height and depth were strongly related to the SVF and front setback. The significance of the front setback and building height decreased as the plot area decreased, whereas that of the building depth increased. Accordingly, planning policies may be formulated to enhance the SVF, thereby mitigating the UHI effect.