Browsing by Author "Mostafa, Mona"

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Climate Change Adaptation: Prioritising Districts for Urban Green Coverage to Mitigate High Temperatures and UHIE in Developing Countries
(Springer, 2018) Aboulnaga, Mohsen; Mostafa, Mona
Urbanisation and the increasing population contribute to the occurrence of the well-documented phenomena of urban heat island effect (UHIE). Heat-related problems have become a global issue as prolonged exposure to extreme high temperatures increased the percentage of mortality and morbidity in cities worldwide. The purpose of this study is to prioritise urban areas that are at high risk for heat-related incidents, particularly in Cairo Governorate, Egypt. It also intended to investigate the implementation of urban green coverage (UGC) strategies such as green open spaces, trees, green roofs, and vertical walls. UGC would contribute to mitigating UHIE in developing countries. The methodology includes a review on the UHI problems, along with the cooling benefits the UGC can produce. In addition, the study adopts the Australian model developed by A. Norton et al., in 2015, which states that a high-priority area can be identified by the intersection of three factors: (1) high daytime/night-time surface temperatures (heat exposure), (2) most vulnerable sections of the society to extreme heat (vulnerability), and (3) zones with many users active outdoor (behavioural exposure). However, in Cairo City, it was difficult to assess the behaviour of population in outdoor public spaces. Therefore, the study follows “Crichton’s Risk Triangle” conducted by Morabito et al., 2015, to identify high-risk areas based on the intersection of three layers. The triangle’s three components are (a) high daytime/night-time surface temperatures (hazard), (b) total exposed population in a city (exposure), and (c) subpopulations at risk of being harmed during extreme heat (vulnerability). In the simulation, the risk assessment method simplifies the process of constructing the GIS database as it is composed of layering system. Hence, this study takes into account several vulnerability factors such as the distribution of the elderly and very young population and the deprivation index of Cairo districts. In the development of a heat-related vulnerability index (HVI) map for Cairo districts, it was done by overlayering the natural hazard layer (land surface temperature in summer) with spatial demographic data using GIS Software. Results of risk maps of Cairo were presented and showed normalised HVI values ranging between 0.0 and 1.0, which can be categorised into five risk levels (very low, low, moderate, high, and very high). Results also indicated that 13 out of the 46 districts in Cairo are at very high/ high risk, while only five districts have a very low-risk probability. Finally, the study develops a tool to map the population vulnerability to extreme heat events in Cairo city resulting from UHIE, which identifies high-priority risk areas that requires urgent intervention by applying more UGC as a significant action to mitigate UHIE in cities and adapt to climate change risks.
Livable Cities Urban Heat Islands Mitigation for Climate Change Adaptation Through Urban Greening
(Springer, 2024-07) Aboulnaga, Mohsen; Trombadore, Antonella; Mostafa, Mona; Abouaiana, Ahmed
Livable Cities: Urban Heat Islands Mitigation for Climate Change Adaptation Through Urban Greening elucidates on livability in urban areas, providing readers with definitions and indicators of what makes a city livable. It comprehensively introduces the urban heat island effect (UHIE) and offers strategies for mitigating high surface temperatures in metropolitan areas and adapting to climate change (CC). The coverage highlights the linkage between UHIE and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the socio-economic impacts of urban heat islands (UHIs), their effect on livability for citizens, and the costs and benefits of mitigating UHI. In addition, it encompasses background information about the problems and challenges that megacities face in the 21st century, followed by the cooling benefits that can be achieved from the different types of urban green coverage (UGC), whether conventional or innovative. The book presents case studies on six cities that have successfully applied UGC: Chicago (United States), Curitiba (Brazil), Stuttgart (Germany), Tokyo (Asia), Melbourne (Australia), and Johannesburg (South Africa). Additional case studies illustrate UHIE mapping in greater Cairo, Egypt, and Rome, Italy, to determine hot spot areas that need interventions and prioritization of UGC. Highlights also include the role of blue and green infrastructures in creating livable cities in the post-COVID-19 world, trends of bi-correlation between urban green spaces (UGSs), UGC, and COVID-19, and global patterns of UGSs to shape better healthy, sustainable, and resilient cities.
Mitigating Heat Islands Effect in Mega Cities through Districts’ Prioritisation for Urban Green Coverage Applications: Cairo – Egypt as a Case Study
(EDP Sciences, 2019) Aboulnaga, Mohsen; Mostafa, Mona
Heat-related problems have become a global issue resulted from climate change. Prolonged exposure to extreme high temperatures increased the percentage of mortality and morbidity in cities worldwide. Urbanization and population contribute to urban heat islands effect (UHIE). The purpose of this paper is to prioritize urban areas at high risk for heat related incidents in mega cities and to propose the implementation of urban green coverage (UGC) strategies which contribute to mitigating UHIE. The methodology includes a review on the UHI problems, along with the cooling benefits the UGC can produce. Then, the study’s application is mainly focused on Cairo Governorate, Egypt as an example of a developing country. Cairo Governorate, Egypt lacks well maintained vegetation in almost all districts as results indicated that it has a mean normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) ranging from 0.08 to 0.25. The study adopts the Australian model developed by Norton et al. [Landsc. Urban Plan. 134, 127 (2015)], which includes the intersection of three factors (heat exposure, vulnerability, and behavioural exposure) to identify a high priority area. It was difficult to assess the behaviour of population in outdoor public spaces in a city like Cairo; hence, the study follows “Crichton’s Risk Triangle” conducted by Morabito et al. [PLoS One 10, e0127277 (2015)], to identify high risk areas based on the intersection of three layers: (a) high day-time/night-time surface temperatures hazard; (b) total exposed population in a city exposure; and (c) sub-populations at risk of being harmed during extreme heat vulnerability. In the simulation, the risk assessment method simplifies the process of constructing the GIS database as it is composed of layering system. The development of a Heat-related Vulnerability Index (HVI) map for Cairo districts was conducted by over layering the natural hazard layer (land surface temperature) with spatial demographic data using GIS Software. Results of risk maps of Cairo were presented and showed normalized HVI values ranging between 0.0 and 1.0, which can be categorized into five risk levels (very low to very high). Results also indicated that 13 out of the 46 districts in Cairo are at very high/high risk, while only 5 districts have a very low risk. Finally, a tool was established to map the population vulnerability to extreme heat events by identifying high priority risk areas that requires urgent intervention by applying more UGC to mitigate UHIE and climate action and adaptation.
Sustainability Principles and Features Learned from Vernacular Architecture: Guidelines for Future Developments Globally and in Egypt
(Springer, 2019) Aboulnaga, Mohsen; Mostafa, Mona
Vernacular architecture is the traditional architecture built by indigenous (local) people in a country. It can be considered sustainable as it exhibits the consideration of environmental, social, cultural and economic factors. Vernacular architecture has been built in many countries around the world. It reflects the culture and tradition of indigenous people using simple forms and local materials supported by simple construction skills. Africa has many examples of vernacular architecture using natural resources within reach locally. Also, Latin America, Asia and Europe show various and similar examples. By-and-large, vernacular architecture illustrates many aspects of sustainability and addresses sustainable development requirements in terms of needs and limitations. Nonetheless, vernacular buildings demonstrate compliance with and adherence to basic green principles. This chapter focuses on vernacular architecture in general and presents leading global and regional traditional buildings, including examples in Africa (58 countries) and Middle East (13 countries) to learn about and detect synergies and to assist in better understanding of the vernacular architecture worldwide and the selected cases in Egypt. In this review, building types, materials, elements of structure and forms were illustrated and assessed. Factors influencing vernacular architecture in many countries are presented and discussed. Comparison between vernacular architecture examples in Africa was conducted in terms of building types and climatic region, specifically under parameters such as building shape (form), colour and materials as well as structural and sustainability features. In addition, examples of vernacular architecture in Egypt were reviewed and illustrated, mainly: Aswan, Luxor and Western Desert. A comparison between examples of vernacular architecture in Siwa Oasis in Egypt was conducted in terms of use, building materials, structure and project description as well as social sustainability, economic sustainability and environmental sustainability. Finally, lessons learned from global, regional and Egyptian vernacular architecture as well as sustainability guidelines for future development are outlined.