1. Urban Heat Island and Street Design
The case of the city of Doha in Qatar
Sunrise in Doha - © D. Gauthier
IAIA Conference Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Daniel Gauthier - Landscape Architect, Environmental & Sustainability Manager - CSLA, GSAS CGP

2. Qatar and Doha Qatar and Doha - Contrast between old and new
Traditional Dhows and Business district - © D. Gauthier

3. content What are Urban Heat Islands (UHI)
Urban Heat Islands in Doha, Qatar
TRADITIONAL streets of Qatar
GREEN BUILDINGS CERTIFICATION AND uhi
Public Realm guidelines and UHI

4. What Are Urban Heats Islands ?
Shaded street in Doha - © D. Gauthier
Workers resting in the shade- © D. Gauthier
copyright

5. What ARE URBAN HEAT ISLANDS ?
Typical differences in temperatures between city centers are rural area, late afternoon °C 33 32 31 30
Downtown 29
Commercial
Urban Residential
Suburban Residential
Park
Rural Farmland
Suburban Residential
Rural
© D. Gauthier based on an EPA illustration

6. What ARE URBAN HEAT ISLANDS ?
What are the contributing factors to UHI
Season time of the day
Water bodies
Shade
Evapotranspiration
Solar Reflectance
Urban Canopy Layer
Sky view factor
Anthropogenic Contributions

7. Urban Heats Islands in doha, qatar
Intense sun in Al Wakrah - © D. Gauthier

8. Urban Heat Island in Doha, Qatar
Long summer season
Arabian Gulf
North & West winds
07:00 pm
© Makido S., Shandas V., Ferwati S., Sailor D.
Doha
01:00 pm
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
06:00 am

9. Urban Heat Island in Doha, Qatar
Long summer season
Arabian Gulf
North & West winds
Scarce vegetation
Over dimensioned streets paved with asphalt.
Wide streets, low buildings
Streets of Doha- © D. Gauthier

10. Urban Heat Island in Doha, Qatar
Long summer season
Arabian Gulf
North & West winds
Scarce vegetation
Over dimensioned streets paved with asphalt.
Wide streets, low buildings
Dark building material with low solar reflectance
Center Business district of Doha- © D. Gauthier

11. Urban Heat Island in Doha, Qatar
Long summer season
Arabian Gulf
North & West winds
Scarce vegetation
Over dimensioned streets paved with asphalt.
Wide streets, low buildings
Dark building material with low solar reflectance
Heavy traffic and no electric public transportation yet
Metro of Doha- © D. Gauthier

12. Traditional streets of DOHA
Old street of Doha - © D. Gauthier

13. Traditional streets of doha
Narrow streets
Shading casts by buildings
Pale color material
Streets oriented toward the Gulf to catch the breeze
Little human activities generating heat
Doha in © John Lockerbie

14. Traditional streets of doha
Old street of Doha - © D. Gauthier

15. Traditional streets of doha
Old street of Doha - © D. Gauthier

16. Traditional streets of doha
Old street of Doha - © D. Gauthier

17. Traditional streets of doha
Old street of Doha - © D. Gauthier

18. GREEN BUILDING CERTIFICATION AND UHI

19. GREEN BUILDING CERTIFICATION and UHI
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design(LEED) internationally recognized
Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) in Gulf countries
One scheme is dedicated to districts and infrastructures
One of the criteria is evaluating the impact of the Project on UHI.

20. GREEN BUILDING CERTIFICATION and UHI
GSAS Criteria OE1 – Heat Island Effect: minimize Heat Island Effect to reduce its impact on the surrounding habitat and environment.
Evaluation is based only on 1) sky view factor and 2) solar reflectance of material comparing before and after situations

21. Public Realm Guidelines and UHI
Qatar National Public Realm Guidelines- © AECOM
Old street of Doha - © D. Gauthier

22. Public realm guidelines and uhi
Released in 2014, goal of the guidelines is:
“To begin a paradigm shift from a public realm primarily driven by the needs of vehicular-based transport to a more human-scale pedestrian friendly country”.
Vision for street design include:
Streets design for people
Streets that reflects the local culture
Streets which are resilient
Streets which promote positive behaviors
Qatar National Public Realm Guidelines- © AECOM

23. Public realm guidelines and uhi
Historical Center Streets
Qatar National Public Realm Guidelines- © AECOM
Old street of Doha - © D. Gauthier

24. Public realm guidelines and uhi
Mixed Used Streets
Qatar National Public Realm Guidelines- © AECOM
Old street of Doha - © D. Gauthier

25. NEXT STEPS
EGIS is currently developing a comprehensive approach for assessing UHI related to infrastructures such as urban highways. It will include:
Baseline Surveys including mapping tools using GIS, ground-borne thermic cameras and meteorological micro-sensors;
Impact Assessment using GIS based modeling tools
Measures Development including nature based and engineering solutions.
Qatar National Public Realm Guidelines- © AECOM
Old street of Doha - © D. Gauthier

26. Thank you !
Daniel Gauthier Landscape Architect Environmental & Sustainability Manager
Souq Al Wakrah- © D. Gauthier