Natural lighting is an essential element in successful design in order to
decrease the electrical lighting energy consumption while ensuring visual comfort such
as the reduction of glare. This chapter presents the topic of daylighting as it pertains to
the urban scale. The chapter first provides an overview of the several benefits of
daylighting in various applications. Some fundamentals about daylighting are then
presented. This is followed by the presentation of the concept of solar envelopes as an
important aspect of daylighting in the urban scale. Then different studies pertaining to
daylighting at the urban scale are presented.
Keywords: Climatic daylighting metrics, Daylighting, Dynamic daylighting
metrics, Energy, Fresnel lenses, Light redirection, Light wells, Lighting,
Radiance, Simulation, Sky types, Solar tubes, Urban design, Urban sprawl,
Window treatment.