摘要：regional climatic conditions should be considered while designing urban development plans, with special attention to the impact of snowfall on public spaces in cities with harsh winters. The Kitami-city-hall-renewal project in Hokkaido, Japan was studied as an environmental assessment of snow drifting. Assessments of the two site plans proposed during the architectural planning process （A-type and B-type） were conducted in terms of the following three items： （1） The two site plans indicate snow-drifting problems around the main entrance; （2） More number of local snowdrifts on the main-street sidewalks were suggested in the B-type design; （3） Less number of snowdrifts in the parking area beside the railroad were indicated in the A-type design. These results were reflected in the architectural planning process. On the basis of this study, a desirable design process incorporating environmental assessments has been identified for cities with harsh winters.