Sustainable neighborhoods. An energy analysis at urban scale on 5 different typical districts of Abu Dhabi Main Island.

By the passing of the years, the world population is concentrating in the cities converting natural areas into urbanized areas by modifying also the thermal properties of the area. The local climate is under continuous change while the cities evolve. And this change is shown perfectly in the Urban Heat Island (UHI) phenomenon. The cooling load inside the buildings is increased indirectly by the UHI phenomenon. This would bring additional cost and bring one step back into the main target of having a sustainable city. Sustainable city start with sustainable neighborhoods. This paper provides an overview on how with the help of different tools such as ENVI-met, UMI, Energyplus and Ecotect we can have the results of the energy consumption of 5 different districts in Abu Dhabi, a city with hot arid climate. The idea is to analyze each district that is characterized by different building typology. On a second step, after using Ecotect to locate the areas that were exposed to the sun within the district there is an intervention proposal. Placing urban shading devices and vegetation in form of parks not only would improve the outdoor quality but also can reduce the cooling load in the building by reducing the temperatures and improving the airflow. This is the main aim of this study. Several simulations before and after the proposals will show this energy saving. The shading devices proposed are complying with the traditional concept but adapted to a new technology. The main material would be wood and a specific type of fabric. Even though for the tools used in the energy simulations the important parameters are connected to the materials only. Special openings and details are not recognized. Even though, thru the two main tools we can show that requalifying the neighbors bring direct and indirect savings and helps in having a sustainable neighborhoods.