Improvement of Thermal Comfort Conditions in an Urban Space (Case Study: The Square of Independence, Sétif, Algeria)

The main objective in this paper is to determine the impact of vegetation, ponds and fountains on the urban microclimate in general and on the thermal comfort of people along the Independence square in the Algerian city of Setif, which is a semi-arid climate, in particularly. In order to reach this objective, a comparative study between different scenarios has been done; the use of the Envi-met program enabled us to model the urban environment of the Independence Square and to study the possibility of improving the conditions of comfort by adding an amount of vegetation and water ponds. After studying the results obtained, the efficiency of the additions the authors have made on the square was confirmed and this is what helped us to confirm our assumptions regarding the terms of comfort in the studied site, and in the end they are trying to develop recommendations and solutions which may contribute to improve the conditions for greater comfort in the Independence square.