Evaluation of the impact of public space design on the land surface temperature by using geographical information systems: the example of Taksim Square Urban Design Competition

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2022-2-09
Kızılca, Aybüke Bihter
Urban areas are heating due to climate change and anthropogenic heat release. Increasing temperature negatively affects people, nature, and ecosystems. Many factors trigger the temperature increase in cities, including traffic, increasing population density and surface temperatures, etc. Public spaces are urban areas where increasing temperatures affect daily life most. Therefore, the materials and elements preferred in public spaces covering most city surfaces are crucial in controlling Land Surface Temperatures (LST). Thus, LST should be an important parameter in urban design and public space design principles. However, LST is not yet considered a parameter that guides the design process in the urban design process. This thesis emphasizes that LST is a variable that needs to shape the design process of cities (especially public spaces). However, there is not enough study in the literature on LST analysis in high resolutions for serving the urban design process to achieve this goal. For this reason, it is aimed to develop a practical and low-cost analysis method to (1) identify design elements and materials that affect LMS in public space design and (2) disseminate LST analysis in public space design. Accordingly, one of İstanbul's historical squares, Taksim Square, was chosen as the study area. In recent years, decision-makers in public space design processes have widely preferred urban design competitions in Turkey. Taksim Square Urban Design Competition, held in İstanbul in 2020, was chosen as the study area due to the number of participants and the importance of the square. The LST of the winning and runner-up projects were evaluated. The surface temperature of the field was measured with the Benetech G300. The potential surface temperature of Project 15 (winner) and Project 19 (runner-up) and current surface temperature of the square were modeled with GIS analysis tools; Analyzed with Kernel Density and Map Algebra tools, and then compared. As a result of the LST analysis, the land use of the square and the average surface temperatures of Project 15 and Project 19 were found as 41℃, 35℃, and 32℃ under the same conditions, respectively. The percentages of areas covered by surfaces with a temperature of 40 degrees and above are in order of 48%, 38%, and 26%. As a result of the study, it is observed that the winning project in the Taksim Square Urban Design Competition had a surface temperature approximately 3℃ warmer than the runner-up project, thus emphasizing the importance of the LST analysis in the urban design process. With the steps applied in this study, the experts working in urban design may analyze the LST of the designed areas with basic operations at low costs in any GIS environment.

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Citation Formats
A. B. Kızılca, “Evaluation of the impact of public space design on the land surface temperature by using geographical information systems: the example of Taksim Square Urban Design Competition,” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2022.