The Role of Urban Spaces Physical Orientation on the Extent of Climate Comfort of Citizens: Case study of Bandar Abbas

Public spaces are the main element of urban structure, in which the stage and backdrop to the drama of public life is shaped. Comfort is a prerequisite for a successful urban space, and an important integrative dimension of the urban experience. In this regard, climate comfort, as the most influential factor, is applicable when the balance is maintained between the temperature released and the temperature absorbed by the skin in the environment. This balance is affected by the environmental elements of temperature, relative humidity, wind flow, and appropriate orientation of urban physical structure. The last element can be recognized as the lowest cost effective factor in climatic comfort of the citizens in public open spaces. In this research, the correlation method is used to determine the appropriate orientation for the public open spaces in Bandar Abbas. Accordingly, at first, a comparison between eight cardinal directions was calculated in terms of the extent of exposure to the sun using analysis of variance method (ANOVA) in R software based on a fixed rectangle form corresponding with these direction during a year. Then, by removing the disruptive winds of comfort, these directions were prioritized using the extent of climate comfort. Based on the results, the north-south orientation is significantly more important than others and the east-west is the most undesirable orientation for public spaces physical orientation in Bandar Abbas. This can be a guideline for future development of the city concern public open spaces. However, other climatic factors, including cover, materials, etc. have been neglected in this study. Other factors and variables must be considered in future researches to study the climatic comfort of citizens comprehensively with the intervention of all variables.