A team of scientists from the Siberian Federal University (SFU) have suggested a method to create comfortable living conditions for Arctic cities. Neighborhood designed according to the new method can protect residents from strong winds, “redirect” precipitation and lower the risk of freeze burns, the SFU Press Service reports.

Residents of the Arctic cities like Murmansk, Norilsk and Vorkuta face long winters, gales, and heavy precipitation. Smart zoning of residential areas can help create a more comfortable bioclimate inside courtyards, neighborhoods and entire cities, SFU scientists believe.

“There are certain bioclimate indicators of comfort for assessing how harsh northern winters can be. They include temperature, wind speed and other meteorological measurements. We can judge residents’ comfort and wellbeing based on the conditions in districts and even cities in general. We will know the best location for a kindergarten or a school, how to organise communal spaces and sport facilities,” comments Viktoria Meshkova, Senior Research Fellow at the Laboratory of Physics and Chemistry Technologies for Developing Hard-to-Access Hydrocarbons.

SFU scientists cooperate with their colleagues from the Kutateladze Institute of Thermal Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences to develop a new method for designing cities in the Arctic region. The method will allow “managing” precipitation areas, maintain comfortable temperatures in residential neighborhoods depending on the season and time of day, and “rein in” winds.

“We worked with different types of urban designs and used a specifically created software to calculate the parameters of a microclimate in these types of designs during cold and warm seasons. We monitored climate changes over 24 hours based on solar radiation levels. We worked out how the microclimate affects people, whether residents are comfortable and how they can handle heat and cold. As a result, we found which type of urban design is most favourable for living in modern conditions,” Meshkova added.

Construction according to the new method will lower freeze burn and other risks for local residents while also relieving the burden on housing and utilities services.

“We believe that designing areas in the existing Arctic cities, as well as designing new cities and towns, using bioclimate comfort parameters will boost the population’s social activity and create a positive economic effect for businesses,” Meshkova stressed.