Resilience Capacities and Liveability in Algiers: A Morphological Approach

Cities in North Africa are increasingly affected by extreme urban heat due to climate change and excessive urbanization. Monitoring Land Surface Temperature (LST) and its interactions with urban morphology reveals significant impacts on urban comfort and quality of life, as identified by the Lively City Index (LCI). In this paper, Algiers with its extreme temperature 40 to 45°C and an LCI negatively correlated with LST is used as a case study to develop an analytical methodology linking LST distribution, spectral indices, liveability, and urban morphology to improve urban resilience and liveability. The methodology is based mainly on the use of LST mapping drawn from satellite images to evaluate aspects of urban morphology that mitigate heat effects and help enhance liveability. Based on the significant negative correlation between NDBI and LST, the study demonstrates that urban morphology plays a crucial role in thermal comfort. It also shows that morphological adaptation capacity depends on the level of absorption capacity and the identification of existing adaptation potentials to establish urban resilience to heat and improve liveability.