Microclimate, Morphology, and Resilience - Planning for Heat in High-Density Cities: Public Lecture by Tania Sharmin

Event Description

We are delighted to welcome Tania Sharmin to speak on her research focused on the impacts of climate change on urban microclimates.

As the climate crisis intensifies, cities around the world—particularly in the Global South—are facing escalating challenges related to extreme heat, urban densification, and public health vulnerability. This talk examines how the physical structure of cities influences microclimatic conditions and thermal comfort, and how these environmental dynamics intersect with the lived realities of urban populations, especially in low-income and high-density settings.

 Drawing on fieldwork and case studies from Dhaka, Cairo, Ahmedabad, and Jodhpur, the presentation explores how variations in urban form—such as building height, street orientation, and spatial compactness—affect local microclimates and perceived thermal comfort. The research highlights both the limitations of uniform planning and the cooling potential of diverse and traditional urban morphologies. It also incorporates thermal comfort surveys, ENVI-met simulations, and participatory assessments to investigate how environmental stress, social practices, and infrastructure shape people's resilience to heat.

The talk also explores cultural and heritage-based solutions, including the adaptive role of historic stepwells in regulating heat and supporting social life. By integrating environmental data with ethnographic insights and public health perspectives, the research underscores the need for climate adaptation strategies that are both spatially responsive and socially grounded

This event forms part of the UTS School of Architecture’s Solidarity public program, curated by Dr Endriana Audisho.

Biography

Dr Tania Sharmin is an Associate Professor in Sustainable Environmental Design at the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University. Her research focuses on the impacts of climate change on urban microclimates and human thermal comfort, particularly in high-density, low-income settings. She completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge, funded by the Schlumberger Foundation’s “Faculty for the Future” Award. Tania applies microclimate measurements, satellite remote sensing, CFD, and building energy modelling to examine how urban form affects heat exposure and how extreme heat events and the urban heat island effect impact vulnerable populations.

Tania is the Principal Investigator for the UK-ISPF project “Combating Urban Extreme Heat for Vulnerable Populations in Cairo”. She recently led as PI the AHRC-funded “H2O-STEP” project on historic stepwells in India and the HEFCW ODA-funded research on “Heat exposure in Cairo”. Tania was a 2022–23 Fung Global Fellow at Princeton University and has been a Co-Investigator on several UKRI-funded projects, including “Community Open Map Platform,” “SMART-Health-care,” and “Heat Resilient Reading”.

Banner Image: A long-distance view of Cairo’s expanding cityscape with the Pyramids set behind a hazy, smog filled sky, Dr Tania Sharmin.