THE EFFECT OF BUILDING HEIGHTS ON OUTDOOR WIND ENVIRONMENT OF THE RESIDENTIAL SECTOR / CAS OF EL EULMA CITY, Algeria

The residential open spaces microclimate especially the wind environment, is widely affected by its surrounding buildings. This paper aims to assess the influence of residential buildings on urban microclimate in the North Est region of Algeria. This assessment performed using the in-situ measurements of different microclimate’s settings, during summer and winter. Comparing between two existing city housing blocks, the present study showed that, the higher one results lower temperatures outdoor spaces in winter and summer. Furthermore, the passage under the building improves the accessibility, the ventilation in the inside corner of the city block, but may increase the wind speed so it causes pedestrians discomfort and safety issues.