Urban Green Systems for Improving Pedestrian Thermal Comfort and Walkability in Future Climate Scenarios in London
The purpose of this research is to investigate the thermal impact of urban green systems (UGS) (trees and living facades) and high albedo pavements on reducing the urban heat island (UHI) effect in London at the pedestrian street level. The research assesses the impact of UGS by suggesting practicab...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Buildings |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/14/3/651 |
| _version_ | 1797241797153390592 |
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| author | Hashem Taher Heba Elsharkawy Haitham Farouk Rashed |
| author_facet | Hashem Taher Heba Elsharkawy Haitham Farouk Rashed |
| author_sort | Hashem Taher |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The purpose of this research is to investigate the thermal impact of urban green systems (UGS) (trees and living facades) and high albedo pavements on reducing the urban heat island (UHI) effect in London at the pedestrian street level. The research assesses the impact of UGS by suggesting practicable urban greenery-covering densities (25% and 50%) and using high albedo pavement in current and future climatic scenarios (2050 and 2080). This approach is intended to encourage pedestrians to walk longer distances for longer durations during the warmer months, following the Transport for London’s (TfL) 2017 Healthy Streets initiative. The research seeks to measure the advantages and assess the possible impact on the comfort and activities within urban streets. The study adopts a quantitative research design using ENVI-met modelling and questionnaires. Simulation results, the subject of this paper, confirmed that, across three climatic scenarios, the optimal UGS for thermal comfort is 50% trees followed by 25% trees, dependent on street orientation and solar access. Living facades (LF) with 25% and 50% covering had no discernible effect on the comfort of pedestrians, whereas high albedo pavement increases heat stress. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:29:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6238a7415b9c4a74891c14f2aa09a5b7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-5309 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:29:02Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Buildings |
| spelling | doaj.art-6238a7415b9c4a74891c14f2aa09a5b72024-03-27T13:29:09ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092024-03-0114365110.3390/buildings14030651Urban Green Systems for Improving Pedestrian Thermal Comfort and Walkability in Future Climate Scenarios in LondonHashem Taher0Heba Elsharkawy1Haitham Farouk Rashed2School of Creative Arts, University of Hertfordshire (UH-GAF), Cairo 4813001, EgyptDepartment of Architecture and Landscape, Kingston School of Art, Kingston University, Kingston upon Thames KT1 2QJ, UKArchitectural Engineering Department, University of Prince Mugrin, Medina 42241, Saudi ArabiaThe purpose of this research is to investigate the thermal impact of urban green systems (UGS) (trees and living facades) and high albedo pavements on reducing the urban heat island (UHI) effect in London at the pedestrian street level. The research assesses the impact of UGS by suggesting practicable urban greenery-covering densities (25% and 50%) and using high albedo pavement in current and future climatic scenarios (2050 and 2080). This approach is intended to encourage pedestrians to walk longer distances for longer durations during the warmer months, following the Transport for London’s (TfL) 2017 Healthy Streets initiative. The research seeks to measure the advantages and assess the possible impact on the comfort and activities within urban streets. The study adopts a quantitative research design using ENVI-met modelling and questionnaires. Simulation results, the subject of this paper, confirmed that, across three climatic scenarios, the optimal UGS for thermal comfort is 50% trees followed by 25% trees, dependent on street orientation and solar access. Living facades (LF) with 25% and 50% covering had no discernible effect on the comfort of pedestrians, whereas high albedo pavement increases heat stress.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/14/3/651climate changeurban heat island (UHI)urban green systems (UGS)climate change mitigationpedestrian thermal comfort |
| spellingShingle | Hashem Taher Heba Elsharkawy Haitham Farouk Rashed Urban Green Systems for Improving Pedestrian Thermal Comfort and Walkability in Future Climate Scenarios in London Buildings climate change urban heat island (UHI) urban green systems (UGS) climate change mitigation pedestrian thermal comfort |
| title | Urban Green Systems for Improving Pedestrian Thermal Comfort and Walkability in Future Climate Scenarios in London |
| title_full | Urban Green Systems for Improving Pedestrian Thermal Comfort and Walkability in Future Climate Scenarios in London |
| title_fullStr | Urban Green Systems for Improving Pedestrian Thermal Comfort and Walkability in Future Climate Scenarios in London |
| title_full_unstemmed | Urban Green Systems for Improving Pedestrian Thermal Comfort and Walkability in Future Climate Scenarios in London |
| title_short | Urban Green Systems for Improving Pedestrian Thermal Comfort and Walkability in Future Climate Scenarios in London |
| title_sort | urban green systems for improving pedestrian thermal comfort and walkability in future climate scenarios in london |
| topic | climate change urban heat island (UHI) urban green systems (UGS) climate change mitigation pedestrian thermal comfort |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/14/3/651 |
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