Déterminants de la forme urbaine générant le potentiel de maitrise de l’énergie en zone semi-aride.

Abstract

In order to reduce the environmental risks of climate change caused by the consumption of fossil fuels and the resulting greenhouse gas emissions, the international community has come together around two main objectives, mitigation and adaptation, to be achieved in accordance with the roadmaps adopted at the World Climate Summits. The energy policy of each participating and signatory country was then presented as National Commitments. Algeria concentrates its energy policy on two main axes: the gradual introduction of renewable energies in sectors identified as major consumers and the implementation of energy efficiency. The city, as a source of GHG emissions and an active player in adaptation policy, is the main target of this last concern, which is also at the central issue of this thesis through the concept of energy management. Today, the main orientations of national energy policy in Algeria are not yet translated into specific tools and methods at different local scales, and they are almost exclusively designed for buildings and means of transport. However, it seems that these actions (insulation of the envelope, solar water heater, consumption pricing, LPG for cars) cannot meet alone the energy challenges. Urban planning is then presented as a more complete tool, in terms of scale and means of action that can structure energy policy through the management of the urban form that is considered as a structured and structuring system of households’ energy consumption practices induced by the two sectors, the biggest energy consumers: buildings and transport. This thesis proposes a research approach through which the energy saving potential of the determinants of urban form is explored and identified using systemic modeling method. This scope could help open up potential opportunities for reducing energy consumption in urban areas. The proposed approach is applied to the case of Djelfa, located in the highlands band characterized by a semiarid climate. According to the SNAT guidelines (Schéma national d'aménagement du territoire), this band is intended for future urbanization, in order to balance the spatial distribution of the population. The obtained results, in the form of models and dashboards, present the energy saving potential of the determinants of urban form, linked to construction and residential transport in the semi-arid zone. This result opens the way for an extension of the approach to other cities and geo-climatic contexts in Algeria. The thesis also deals with the possibility of integrating the results into local urban planning instruments, with the aim of assisting urban project managers and designers. In this context, the approach appears to be the means able to help meeting the objectives of energy management in urban areas, in order to implement the commitments of the national energy policy.