Interest in climate-sensitive urban design has grown in recent decades. Nevertheless, there are
various difficulties associated with such an approach. One of these is the lack of simple comfort assessment tools.
This article presents a method for microclimate assessment that is composed of a wind comfort analysis and a
microclimate assessment based on measuring a combination of solar access and wind velocity. The study includes
analysis of a proposed urban project situated in Kiruna, a Swedish town located in the subarctic region of the
country. The results from the simulations were then overlaid to produce combined microclimate maps for three
specific dates: winter solstice, spring equinox and summer solstice. The maps illustrate relative microclimate differences
between areas in the proposed project based on combinations of wind/lee and sun/shadow conditions.
The outcomes showed that only a small proportion of the area studied had favourable microclimate conditions at
the winter solstice and spring equinox. The thermal comfort Index OUT_SET* was calculated for the summer
solstice in the study area. Comparisons between the spatial distribution of OUT_SET* values and the microclimate
assessment map showed a large degree of correlation. The method is intended to be a simple and representative
evaluation of microclimate.

• Microclimate assessment method f or urban design – A case study in subarctic climate