Impact of Street Orientation, Street Width and Building Height on Sunlight and Daylight Access in Swedish Urban Blocks

Abstract

Urban form strongly influences sunlight access, a critical factor for well‐being in Nordic cities where low
solar altitude and short winter days limit natural light. Despite its importance, solar access is often secondary
in planning, as street layouts are typically shaped by topography, traffic, and existing infrastructure. Although
analytical tools and historical examples highlight deliberate orientation strategies, there remains limited
quantitative evidence on how street orientation directly affects daylight availability. This study develops
simulation‐based analyses to evaluate how street orientation influences sunlight access and diffuse daylight
access in residential settings, using climate data from Lund, Stockholm, and Luleå to support early‐stage
urban planning guidelines for Nordic contexts.
The methodology combines qualitative and quantitative approaches. A literature and regulatory review is
conducted to examine Nordic planning frameworks, including Boverket guidelines and EN 17037, in order to
assess requirements for access to natural light and to position the study within the broader body of research on
urban form and daylighting in high-latitude regions. Computer-based three-dimensional parametric urban
models of simplified Nordic Street geometries are developed in Rhino/Grasshopper. These models incorporate
a courtyard building typology representing an enclosed, inward-facing urban form that is common within the
Nordic urban fabric, while street orientation is systematically rotated from 0° to 90°. Climate-based annual
daylight and sunlight simulations are performed using typical meteorological year climate files for Lund,
Stockholm, and Luleå. The key performance metrics include Direct Solar Hours, Annual Sunlight Exposure
(ASE), Spatial Daylight Autonomy (sDA), Useful Daylight Illuminance (UDI), and Average Illuminance.
The findings indicate that street orientation has only a minor influence on daylight performance in courtyard
buildings, with small differences observed between orientations. Building height and street width prove to be
considerably more significant. Taller buildings reduce daylight at lower floors while increasing sunlight
exposure at upper floors, and narrower canyon widths further worsen overall daylight conditions. Clear
performance differences between cities are also evident, with higher latitude locations consistently showing
lower daylight levels.
Taken together, the results suggest that daylight performance in Nordic courtyard buildings is primarily
governed by urban geometry rather than orientation. Building height, street width, and latitude are therefore
the most critical considerations in early-stage design. These findings provide a practical basis for improving
daylight access in residential planning across Nordic cities.

Popular Abstract

Sunlight is more than just illumination. It influences our mood, our health, and the amount of energy our
homes consume. In Nordic countries such as Sweden, where winter days are short and the sun remains
low in the sky, access to natural light is a particularly important part of everyday life. However, in many
urban areas, the layout of streets and buildings often limits how much sunlight reaches residential spaces.
This raises an important question: can the orientation of a street affect the amount of daylight that
residents receive?
This question lies at the core of the present study. As cities continue to grow and buildings are
constructed closer together, urban planners face increasing pressure to design neighbourhoods that are
both dense and liveable. A key challenge is ensuring that homes receive sufficient natural light, even in
compact urban environments. While it is well established that building height and street width influence
access to sunlight, the role of street orientation - the direction that streets and buildings face relative to the
sun - has received comparatively less attention, particularly in Nordic climates.
To address this, computer-based simulations were conducted for three Swedish cities: Lund in the south,
Stockholm in central Sweden, and Luleå in the north. A typical Swedish courtyard-style residential block
was modelled and tested under varying conditions of street orientation, building height, and street width.
The simulations evaluated how much direct sunlight and diffuse daylight reached indoor residential
spaces throughout the year.
The results were somewhat unexpected. Street orientation was found to have only a limited effect on
daylight performance. In contrast, building height and street width proved to be far more influential.
Taller buildings reduced daylight levels on lower floors while increasing sunlight exposure on upper
floors. Narrower streets generally worsened daylight conditions across all floors. Geographic location also
played a significant role: homes in Luleå consistently received less daylight than those in Lund, largely
due to its higher latitude and lower solar angles.
These findings have important practical implications for urban planners and architects working in Nordic
cities. Rather than focusing primarily on street orientation, early-stage planning decisions should prioritise
building height and street width as the key factors for improving daylight access in residential areas. This
study offers a practical, evidence-based foundation to support better design decisions and ultimately
contribute to healthier and more liveable urban environments in Nordic regions.

• author: Sinha, Kamal and Panikulangara, Joel John
• supervisor: Marie-Claude Dubois
• organization: Division of Energy and Building Design
• course: AEBM01 20261
• year: 2026
• type: H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
• subject: Technology and Engineering
• keywords: Sunlight access, Daylight access Street Orientation, Urban Planning, Nordic Cities.
• language: English
• id: 9236476
• date added to LUP: 2026-06-12 09:30:47
• date last changed: 2026-06-12 09:30:47