Articles
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The dynamic relationship among technological innovation, international trade, and energy productionThe primary objective of this study is to analyze the dynamic association among the green energy production (GEP), green technological innovation (GTI), and green international trade (GIT). This study uses fully modified least square (FMOLS) and dynamic least square (DOLS) for data analysis. This study uses the panel data set starts from 2000 to 2020 for eight south Asian countries. This study find a negative relationship between GEP and EFP. However, green technological innovation and green international trade have positive significant association. This study recommends several policy implications regarding the economies of south Asia (SA) based on empirical findings: to subsidize the industries for the installation of renewable projects for the production of renewable energies.
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Methodology to Improve Energy Efficiency of Heritage Buildings Using HBIM-Sabil Qaitbay: A Case Study from EgyptOver the last few decades, reducing energy consumption in existing buildings became vital. Although architectural heritage values do not allow typical retrofit interventions, research and practice have demonstrated that heritage buildings can be energy efficient without compromising the building’s heritage values. This article shows the results of energy analysis performed on heritage buildings with HBIM-based simulations such as Revit, Insight, and Green Building Studio. These tools were used to study the energy performance and thermal comfort of Sabil Qaitbay in Cairo, a heritage building built in the fifteenth century, and it is currently used as a library and school for cinema and television. The building history and the conservation values of the current project were studied. Then, the methodology to improve the energy efficiency of heritage buildings using HBIM was discussed. Moreover, two proposals were applied to the current base case, and the potential energy saving for each proposed intervention was investigated. The simulation confirmed a possible reduction of 18.7% in energy consumption with the lowest-cost interventions and 33% with the highest-cost interventions.
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Lessons from the Past to Enhance the Environmental Performance of Primary School Classrooms in EgyptThe achievement of adequate internal environment quality (IEQ) – as one of the most important aspects of quality of life - lies at the core of every debate about built environment of school buildings. Many attempts have been made in the past to examine different aspects of the internal environment quality of primary classrooms. Unhealthy classrooms with poor environmental quality were found to lead to absenteeism among staff and pupils, and negatively affect the performance of children, schoolwork as well as the education process. Children are more susceptible than adults to the effect of poor internal environment quality, which can be “subtle and do not always produce easily recognizable impacts on health and wellbeing”. Egyptian schools are no exception. The author of the current research believes that the environmental performance of these schools could be better by adopting passive strategies and measures. The current paper presents and analysis three examples of the contemporary schools thought to be climatically and environmentally responsive. Their environmental performances are analyzed in order to adopt useful ideas and measures to deal with the hot dry climate in Egypt. The precedents are chosen from the hot dray region and the semi-arid zones according to the Koppen Climatic Classification. Hourly climatic data of their locations are synthesized Using Meteonorm1 software and analyzed using Weather Tool2 to investigate the response of the school design to the climate context. Results suggest a number of useful passive measures that could be applied on the Egyptian schools in order to enhance their environmental performance.
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Investigating the intelligence of the low-tech earth architecture of the Sahara: A feasibility study from the western desert of Egypt.Traditional building techniques such as earth construction have withstood the test of time. Its effectiveness and intelligence in responding to the socio-cultural and climatic context of many regions across the world have been well demonstrated. This article is concerned with the technical and social factors that led to the decline of this intelligent-architecture approach in the Sahara desert. The article investigates the potential and constraints of reintroducing earth construction architecture in four of the six western desert oases as case studies. These oases form the New Valley Governorate of Egypt: Baharia, Farafra, Al-Dakhla and Al-Kharja. Two field studies were undertaken. The first took place during a research trip that included Cairo, Giza, the four oases and Luxor, while the second was conducted in Al-Dakhla only. The results suggest a strong possibility for reusing earth architecture in the four oases from the environmental point of view. However, a number of limitations were identified – durability, buildability and the attractiveness of the mud architecture to the locals. Validation of the results and addressing those constraints are the focus of future work to assess the thermal performance of vernacular and modern case studies in the oases under investigation.
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The building blocks of walkability: Pedestrian activity in Abu Dhabi city centerThis study develops an empirical approach that underlines the effect of land use mix and development grain on pedestrian movement in the streets and public spaces of urban neighborhoods. The study begins with the end in mind; it compares two urban sectors in Abu Dhabi city with broadly recognized contrasting levels of pedestrian movement. The research works backward to identify the combination of built environment attributes that result in differing levels of pedestrian activity between the eastern and western sectors of Abu Dhabi city center. Using Geographic Information Systems maps/data files, direct observations, and field metrics, the study computes various indices related to land use mix, density, and street connectivity for Abu Dhabi central business district. The findings of this study highlight the land use, spatial and street network configurations that enhance pedestrian activity in urban centers. From a local perspective, the research outcome would inform future visions aimed at transforming the city of Abu Dhabi into a global metropolis that provides its citizens and visitors with unique and vibrant urban settings conducive to intra- and inter-neighborhood walkability.
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Assessment of Outdoor Thermal Comfort in Hot Arid ZoneThe globe witnessed a rapid development of the concepts of sustainability, smart architecture, and intelligent buildings during recent decades. The Healthy environment, particularly thermal comfort, is an essential concern for planners, urbanists, and architects to produce a healthy and thermally comfortable environment. A better understanding of the parameters that affect the Outdoor Thermal Comfort (OTC) will enable urbanists and environmentalists to control the microclimate and to enhance environmental performance. Several parameters affect the thermal comfort of human- being such as air temperature, mean radiant temperature (MRT), air velocity, humidity, metabolic rate, and clothing insulation. Assessing the MRT is considered the most challenging parameter in outdoor spaces. Recent research recognized several approaches to determine the OTC in different climatic zones. The influence of different climates and user groups has significantly altered the range of responses for thermal comfort. This paper focuses on reviewing the current state of knowledge on how to assess the OTC and the MRT in the hot arid climate. Results confirmed the integration of the appropriate OTC index with other design tools to evaluate the OTC and the MRT. It also confirmed that Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) and Predictive Mean Vote (PMV) are the most common indices. While ENVI-met and RayMan are the most common software to assess the OTC.
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Energizing Street Life of Urban Neighborhoods: Qualitative Narratives Versus Quantitative MetricsThis study examines a multitude of built environment attributes that potentially work together to energize urban neighborhood street life. It analyzes the impact of mixed-use and street network arrangements on pedestrian presence in the public realm. The study investigates pertinent land use and street network indices as well as spatial analysis techniques that rationalize active street configurational requisites. Mixed-use evenness and distribution, street network connectivity, and space syntax tools are explained with an eye on their utility in planning and designing active urban streets. The analytical approach of this study shifts the discourse from a focus on aesthetic considerations of the built environment to an integrated theoretical framework that underscores the dialectical dynamics between built environment and individuals. The study ultimately aims to establish a planning/design agenda that potentially guides the assessment and development of active urban neighborhood streets. Keywords: Neighborhood design, mixed-use, urban grain, smart growth, street network walkability, space syntax, active streets
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Relationship between Spatial Analysis of Streets and Walking BehaviorThere is diversity and complexity in the spatial analysis that encompasses the analytical perspectives of social segregation in new communities. This research aims to explore the correlations that could predict potentials for walkable environments as a contributor to minimizing social segregation in new communities. The research addresses the spatial configuration analysis of street networks, using space syntax as well as the ground floor use considering the spatiotemporal dimension. The study was conducted in Sheikh Zayed City, a new community in the Greater Cairo Region, Egypt. Various theories and methods use space syntax in practice and empirical research to analyze the spatial relationships in the physical built environment. This research explores the predictive power of space syntax and introduces mixed methods to better investigate the significant relationships between walking behavior and street spatial analysis. The syntactic measures of the streets (global and local integration, choice, and connectivity) are articulated, and ground floor use [using geographic information system (GIS)] is overlaid. Walking behavior is recorded at different times of the week, incorporating the purpose of pedestrian trips, and added in the correlational analysis. A principal component analysis (PCA) followed by multiple regression analysis reveals the explanatory results of relations between the spatial variables for predictable actions. The research findings deduced that ground floor use distribution could predict walking behavior and trip purposes at different times of the week while street syntactic measures vary in their explanatory power on walking behavior, especially when considering the time of the day dimension. Thus, the study concludes that space syntax as an analytic tool should be complemented by other methods that address a wider spectrum of variables pertaining to spatial street properties. The proposed combination of methods can better guide street design, create more walkable communities, and achieve social integration.
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Inward and Outward Opening Properties of One-Sided Windcatchers: Experimental and Analytical EvaluationVernacular measures, such as courtyard, wind catcher “Malqaf”, wooden lattice “Mashra- bia”, and lantern—which can help buildings to depend on natural energy from the sun and the wind—have started to be abandoned in the last decades. However, wind pressure and stack effects are becoming more popular in modern buildings design and the primary method in most domestic buildings to achieve the desired cross ventilation and minimize the air temperature to reach the required cooling loads. This paper aims to revive one of the vernacular measures “the windcatcher”, quantifying the effectiveness of the inward/outward opening properties on the air temperature and airflow inside the buildings. Analytical literature review, context analysis, and numerical simulations are performed. The computer fluid dynamics (CFD) is utilized to simulate both the temperature distribution and the flow field within the windcatcher model. Simulations are carried out in the fluent environment, which uses the control volume method for solving the conservation law. The Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) and energy equation with the realizable k- turbulent model are employed. The research uses a parametric analysis to test different scenarios of wind- catcher designs in terms of dimensions, proportions, and opening ratios. The results of this study confirm that windcatcher has a significant effect in lowering the air temperature inside the different floors. However, it is recommended to use a wind-catcher for not more than two floors, increase the area of the outward opening to 200% relative to the inward opening and apply side opening in the upper floors.
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Relationship between Spatial Analysis of Streets and Walking BehaviorThere is diversity and complexity in the spatial analysis that encompasses the analytical perspectives of social segregation in new communities. This research aims to explore the correlations that could predict potentials for walkable environments as a contributor to minimizing social segregation in new communities. The research addresses the spatial configuration analysis of street networks, using space syntax as well as the ground floor use considering the spatiotemporal dimension. The study was conducted in Sheikh Zayed City, a new community in the Greater Cairo Region, Egypt. Various theories and methods use space syntax in practice and empirical research to analyze the spatial relationships in the physical built environment. This research explores the predictive power of space syntax and introduces mixed methods to better investigate the significant relationships between walking behavior and street spatial analysis. The syntactic measures of the streets (global and local integration, choice, and connectivity) are articulated, and ground floor use [using geographic information system (GIS)] is overlaid. Walking behavior is recorded at different times of the week, incorporating the purpose of pedestrian trips, and added in the correlational analysis. A principal component analysis (PCA) followed by multiple regression analysis reveals the explanatory results of relations between the spatial variables for predictable actions. The research findings deduced that ground floor use distribution could predict walking behavior and trip purposes at different times of the week while street syntactic measures vary in their explanatory power on walking behavior, especially when considering the time of the day dimension. Thus, the study concludes that space syntax as an analytic tool should be complemented by other methods that address a wider spectrum of variables pertaining to spatial street properties. The proposed combination of methods can better guide street design, create more walkable communities, and achieve social integration.
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Smart city as a smart service system: Human-computer interaction and smart city surveillance systemsSmart city services, smart applications and smart devices form an ecosystem of tools and artifacts that challenge, and times even disrupt, conventions, norms, and rites of behavior, thus prompting diverse behavioral changes at the level of the individual, the group, and the society at large. In this view, smart city may be viewed as a – one of its kind – laboratory to query the complex human-computer relationship from a multi-dimensional perspective. By adopting this perspective, this paper queries the existing smart city surveillance systems to identify their key limitations and sources of frequently justified controversies. It is argued that to bypass these – first – the value of mesh-technology should be explored. It is also argued that – second – it is necessary not only to bring citizens back in the discussion on smart city, but also to highlight the mechanisms by means of which they might be involved in the co-design of smart city solutions and in urban decision-making. To bridge these two imperatives, smart city is conceptualized as a smart service system and, consequently, a wireless integrated mesh-technology enhanced (WIMTE) smart city surveillance system is elaborated.
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Adaptive Reuse Decisions for Historic Buildings in Relation to Energy Efficiency and Thermal Comfort—Cairo Citadel, a Case Study from EgyptHistoric buildings still perform their role today by being utilized either for their original purpose or a new purpose for which they are adapted. These buildings have specific requirements that inhabitants must follow. These requirements and relating uses and maintenance procedures result from adaptive reuse decisions, which may not be the most optimal scenario. The imperative is that historic buildings are used in a manner that, on the one hand, does not endanger their value related to heritage and tradition, and on the other hand, guarantees a degree of utility for their inhabitants, such as acceptable performance with regards to either air cooling or heating. The challenge is how to optimize the use of energy for either air cooling or heating, provided that adaptive reuse decisions are grounded in certain very specific and very rigid principles. The latter render is extremely difficult to meet the twin challenges of ensuring energy efficiency and thermal comfort for inhabitants while at the same time complying with the adaptive reuse principles. To address this challenge and gain an insight into ways of navigating it, a Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) is conducted in Former Soldier’s Residence in the Cairo Citadel, Cairo, Egypt, which is now used as the National Organization for Urban Harmony’s (NOUH) administrative head office, this research can be considered as a single domain from which many other possible multi-domains can be investigated while studying the case of adaptive reuse. Other aspects such as indoor environmental quality, air quality, acoustics and lighting might act as multiple approaches appear to be widely used according to this review study, and in the future, the authors intend to test this research with the current single approach used in this research, which is the thermal comfort. POE includes both objective and subjective assessment, the POE limitation at this research to those assessment while a multi-perceptional and behavioral factors might be used as physical, contextual, personal, and others. The simulation and the survey methods were employed consecutively to assess the case study. By considering the research results, it was determined that the building consumes unnecessary energy by its current use of air conditioning system