Assessment of the Effect of Urban Street Canyon Morphology and Thermal Conditions on Outdoor Occupancy and Use: Case Study of “Ben Bou Laïd” Avenue, Setif (Algeria)

This research aims to analyze the physical, morphological, and climatological factors that determine the thermal environment along “Ben Bou Laïd” Avenue in the city of Sétif, Algeria, and within its urban canyons, as well as the capacity of this environment to accommodate activities and uses and to sustain occupancy over space and time. Attention to occupancy constituted the guiding thread of our methodology. A quantitative and qualitative approach was adopted in the case study. First, field observations were conducted during different hours of the day. Then, in situ measurements of thermal parameters, including ambient air temperature (Ta), relative humidity (RH), and wind speed (Va), were collected. Simultaneously, a survey of different users was conducted, followed by an exhaustive assessment of occupancy patterns and their spatial distribution during the same measurement periods. The results show the impact of morphological parameters and their effects separately and simultaneously on the creation of the microclimate, and that they significantly impact occupancy dynamics, in their density and distribution mode in space and time. Although shade is cited as a criterion for choosing spaces by only 14.17% of respondents, observation revealed that a shaded setting (under a gallery, under tree canopy, etc.) remains the most favored location during nearly all of the observed time slots, and it is indeed there that the longest stays are recorded. However, the occupancy patterns observed reveal that they cannot be attributed solely to thermal factors, as several other parameters should also be considered in future research.