**6. Results and discussion**

As a result of the analysis, it has been observed that there are some parameters that positively affect the pedestrian level wind comfort in the carriage texture. Historical Arabahmet district of compact settlement strategy is one of the prominent building design and urban texture layout parameters. Buildings are designed as a closely joined in historical Arabahmet district. In the traditional Arabahmet town, dwellings are distinguished by mutual shadowing for the best protection against solar radiation, which creates tight settlements, winding streets, and intimate squares. The variety of residences, the proximity to social centers, and notably the winding streets are what make these

structures distinctive. These intersecting, slender streets provide space for westerly and, less commonly, easterly winds, and they are built to cast shadows to decrease the impact of the intense heat experienced in the streets during summers. The narrow streets permit breeze flows and which, also facilitate passive cooling for pedestrian comfort. Compacted streets make walking easier due to the shadow they give to the street, and it has been observed that they allow especially women to sit on the street.

Urban airflow patterns in Arabahmet's historical settlement are influenced by the interaction of an incoming wind with the built environment. For pedestrian comfort, health, outdoor and interior thermal comfort, air quality, building energy efficiency, and the creation of a pleasant urban microclimate, the development of airflow inside a street canyon is crucial. Urban canopy layer and urban boundary layer are the two primary layers that make up the air over an urban texture. The urban canopy layer is the layer between building facades and roof tops that is affected by solar radiation hitting the ground and building facades. The urban border layer is higher than the typical building height. The key elements that impact air temperature in the urban boundary layer are heat transfer, pollution emission, evaporation and transpiration, and generally modern urban growth. In this study, especially the wind flow situation in the urban canopy layer region and the wind-pedestrian level relationship between buildings are discussed.

As a result of the analyzes, important inferences and conclusions were reached in both macro-scale and micro-scale detailed district and street-scale studies. In this context, when the wind situation taken from the area of approximately 1.00 m from the ground level is examined, it is seen that the wind speeds of 1.00–1.50 m/s are observed in the wind sheltered areas of the inter-building regions (**Figures 4** and **5**). It can be said that these velocities are seen more intensely in the texture of arabahmet and there may be more positive regions in terms of wind comfort.

Airflow in the urban canopy layer is more obstructed in complex urban textures due to impediments like buildings and trees than airflow in the urban border layer. As a result, the airflow in the urban canopy layer is slower than it is in the nearby rural areas. But in arabahmet texture environment is designed to allow air to circulate between the urban canyons and also to allow the use of some courtyard buildings to reduce heat through the shading effect. For this reason, the evening breezes prevailing in this district during the hot Nicosia summers, also contributed to people preferring this district. Narrow streets with one or two floor houses, with or without oriel windows, lined up in the Arabahmet District form silhouettes reflecting the history of Cyprus (**Figures 4** and **5**).

Another building design and building layout criteria observed in Arabahamet texture and also reflected in the analysis result; It has low-rise houses with courtyards and small gardens with water elements. Due to the scorching summer months, the majority of Arabahmet homes include courtyards. These homes are all very identical in size and shape, being either rectangular or square in design. The courtyard, which is utilized for a variety of activities, including social gathering and entertainment, is where the majority of everyday activities take place. They also serve the purpose of air filters; such as dust in the atmosphere within the courtyard. Some courtyards within the texture of Arabahmet have small pools, fountains, etc. with water elements. These provide effective comfort to the users with the cooling effect through the cool air flows that occur in the wind protected outdoor spaces in the winter and the courtyards in the summer.

The courtyards of houses provided shelter for the windy weather, being placed either in the opposite direction from the street, or separated from the street by high *Pedestrian Level Relationship between Building Forms and Streets Effects on the Condition… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108735*

#### **Figure 4.**

*General Macro view-wind flow and wind velocity distribution of the historical urban texture at 1.00 m above the ground.*

walls. In addition to the street geometry and orientation, which affects the wind flow between buildings in the Arabahmet texture, the canopy formation made by the building configurations in the building-street relationship can affect the air flow. Streets which are straight and parallel to each other would promote air movement into and within the urban areas (**Figures 4** and **5**). Narrow and winding streets reduce cold or hot winds and decrease the influence of stormy winds.

Similarly, another building design and building layout criteria observed in Arabahamet texture and also reflected in the analysis result; It is the use of bay windows and wide cantilevered roofs on building facades. The bay windows (cumba), thick adobe walls, pitch roof structures and their overhangs are all the expression of the climatic responsive design. In Arabahmet settlements, arcades, porches, colonnades, cantilevered roof or components, and membranes serve as traditional responses to the climate in the villages and urban settings. This provides a transition from indoor to outdoor light, and also provides a transition from the outdoor to indoor the airflow. The arcade hall, which in some of these homes is always on the south, is the most wellknown climate-modifying component. The porch, which is located in the southern portion of the house and is made up of an arched area and a semi-open space, is very important to the Arabahmet traditional house. Due to the passage space that is between the closed and open portions, it is more effective during the winter. Also, it provides an

#### **Figure 5.**

*Closer view at the texture-wind flow and wind velocity distribution of the historical urban texture at 1.00 m above the ground.*

ideal space and allows for the cool flow of air during the summer period. It also serves as shading elements for most of the day's especial sunny periods.

Apart from all these suggestions, it is possible to make some conclusions as a result of the analyzes obtained and the observations in the region. In order to achieve better outdoor pedestrian comfort, there are some important points to consider when designing an urban area. Some of those, for hot and humid climatic regions with climatic characteristics similar to the Arabahmet texture, it should be aligned parallel to the prevailing wind direction in order to remove the pollution accumulated at the pedestrian level and to obtain air movements that will provide the pedestrian level wind comfort. In dense and low-rise residential areas similar to the Arabahmet texture, during periods of low wind speed and high temperature, the use of elevated design zones in the building form and form design in the texture and the courtyard building design approach will increase natural ventilation at ground level.
