Assessment of outdoor shading strategies to improve outdoor thermal comfort in school courtyards in

hot and arid climates

Randa Mohamed Ahmed Mahmoud, Amr Sayed Hassan Abdallah

Sustainable Cities and Society 86, 104147, 2022

Schools in hot arid climate depend on courtyard to encourage students’ for social activity. In order to
improve Outdoor Thermal Comfort (OTC), applying passive mitigation strategies in the courtyard is
critical issue. This paper aims to improve students’ thermal comfort in school courtyards throughout the
study of a public school with an E-shaped style in New Assiut City. Hence, different shading strategies
(shading with different heights, vegetation, and hybrid) are simulated by using ENVI-met model v 5.0.0
to improve OTC for students in school courtyards. Firstly, monitoring was conducted inside outer
courtyards. Then nine scenarios of passive strategies were implemented inside two courtyards with a
ratio H/W = 0.4 and 0.7. After that, Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) was used to compare
different scenarios. The results found, by applying hybrid orthogonal and diagonal staggered shading
with trees in wide canyons, significant reductions of PET values reached 18.5°C and 18.6°C respectively.
In addition, the shading at height= 4 m hybrid with trees achieves the best OTC improvement in the
school courtyards. Thus, PET values were located in comfortable and slightly warm ranges for wide
courtyard with H/W ratio = 0.4, and this result is more sufficient than in deep canyon with H/W = 0.7.
Hence, the study provides information for architects and planners to integrate hybrid scenarios of
staggered shading and trees whether in the current schools or in the early design stages for them to
reduce heat stress and improve students’ thermal comfort.

journalpublicspace.org

What Do the Students Want? Reflections from a Participatory Approach to Creating Safe and Inclusive
School Zones in Banjarmasin, Indonesia

Vanesha Manuturi, Nina Asterina, Febpry Ghara Utama

The Journal of Public Space 7 (2), 223-234, 2022

Many public spaces in Indonesian cities are inaccessible to vulnerable and marginalized groups such as
children, older people, and persons with disabilities, partly due to a lack of accessible environment and
limited understanding by citizens and government agencies. The design and planning of these spaces are
typically conducted in a top-down approach, with little participation from citizens. Regulation by the
Indonesian Transportation Ministry 1 stipulates that school areas with heavy traffic and a high risk of
accidents should have a Safe School Zone (Zona Selamat Sekolah, in Indonesian). The regulation details a
technical guideline for the Safe School Zone, ie, traffic signs, crossroads, and speed bumps, but its
implementation does not yet consider inclusive principles and universal design. To build a more inclusive
and accessible city for all in accordance with the New Urban Agenda, a participatory design process with
multiple stakeholders—teachers, local government, and most importantly, students—plays a vital role in
ensuring inclusive planning in cities. This paper reflects on the experience of Kota Kita and the
Banjarmasin City Transportation Agency implementing a participatory Safe and Inclusive School Zone
pilot project in Banjarmasin, Indonesia, to promote inclusive city planning and build the community’s
capacity to improve their living spaces.

SUSTAINABLE NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE CONTEXT OF PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ENERGY LITERACY IN

AN URBAN AREA: FIELD STUDY

Dımıtrıos POIMENIDIS, Vasileios Papavasileiou

IJAEDU-International E-Journal of Advances in Education 7 (21), 166-172, 2021

Complex contemporary social, economic, and environmental problems create challenges in terms of
urban environmental quality, infrastructure, transport and energy. Concurrently, considerable pressures
are exerted, resulting in serious environmental consequences. "Sustainable cities" are the cities we must
create and leave a legacy for the future generations. The design of public spaces, roads, sidewalks,
squares, cycle lanes, waste collection and waste management are fundamental issues in the context of
sustainable urban development, for which, if local governments implement policies for sustainable
urban planning and design and if there is funding, accessible technology, and education, it will enhance
citizens’ quality of life, provide comfort, increase accessibility, and significantly minimize the amount of
energy consumed while reducing the human impact on the environment. However, most cities are
already facing many problems such as urban environmental degradation, traffic congestion, inadequate
urban infrastructure, and lack of public services, like waste management. Hence, Urban Environmental
Management is the key target of sustainability in terms of ensuring quality management. Respectively,
informing citizens, educating them, and strengthening their environmental literacy, notably the energy
one, is the main pillar for the reduction or elimination of the issues affecting the urban quality of life.
The children’s active participation in an exploratory study, through education in relevant issues, provides
the opportunity for them to be informed, learn, and develop their critical thinking. Hence, a two-month
work plan was implemented in October and November 2020, which involved students in active and
experiential ways of learning, both theoretically and in the field of study. After concluding the teaching
approaches, the fourth graders of primary school were divided in 18 groups and carried out a week-long
research. They observed and reported issues related to the quality of their neighborhood structure in
combination with the processes and services of the town municipality. The study results initially outline
the children's developing cognitive ability to critically approach the urban issues, to adopt models of
sustainable development related to energy. The research highlights the lack of parking infrastructure,
the adequate width of sidewalks, the absence of adequate road signs and pedestrian crossings in
neighborhoods, the existence of not only an adequate number of waste containers but also the need to
replace them systematically, as well as the citizens’ rational attitude concerning waste disposal.
Furthermore, it seems that it is necessary for the municipal public services to implement additional
training programs for the cleaning service staff. Additionally, questions concerning the limited number
of recreational parks for children and the need for better management and maintenance of the existing
ones were noted. Moreover, the need arises for the implementation of a general campaign regarding
safety precautions by the local government to improve driver behavior in accordance with the Highway
Code. Lastly, exploring these issues maximized the children’s active participation in the field of study by
making them into critical observers, strong critical thinkers, and informed citizens of tomorrow who
currently understand the actions and social practices that take place in the urban realm.