ABSTRACT
Understanding outdoor thermal comfort and resilience is essential for the creation of a resilient urban environment. However, there is a lack of knowledge and capacities in interfacing an urban design model with local thermal characteristic in practices. Therefore, this chapter proposes using an integrated modelling-and-simulation-based approach to study and build outdoor thermal comfort and resilience in tropical cities from an urban design perspective. To understand the impacts of traditional tropical cityscape on thermal comfort and resilience, the model visualised the thermal landscape of Ipoh in Malaysia, which were reviewed and reflected on, finally providing insights into the distribution of heat within the urban fabric. The results showed that the compact layout pattern of the Old Town and the greenery integrated into the New Town both have strong cooling effects in their respective thermal environments. Design recommendations focused largely on providing adequate shading at the pedestrian level. In sum, outdoor comfort will become an increasingly important factor in the liveability, thermal health and safety of inhabitants of urban areas. Learning lessons from the thermal-spatial relationships revealed can provide invaluable knowledge and inspiration to design more resilient urban areas in a heating climate successfully.
