IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i10p5348-d552181.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Summer Thermal Conditions in Outdoor Public Spaces: A Case Study in a Mediterranean Climate

Author

Listed:
  • Renato Soares

    (CONSTRUCT (LFC), Faculty of Engineering (FEUP), University of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
    CITTA, Faculty of Engineering (FEUP), University of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal)

  • Helena Corvacho

    (CONSTRUCT (LFC), Faculty of Engineering (FEUP), University of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal)

  • Fernando Alves

    (CITTA, Faculty of Engineering (FEUP), University of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal)

Abstract

Comfort in public spaces is essential to their attractiveness and continued role in improving human quality of life. Acceptable thermal conditions are determinant to ensuring users’ comfort. This study undertakes an assessment of three urban sites in Arouca, in the north of Portugal, using ENVI-met software. Simulations test the influence of pavement and façade covering material, vegetation, and site morphology. The climate of the region is classified as Mediterranean Csb, with rainy winters and dry and mildly warm summers. A typical summer day is considered. The results reveal that a combination of factors might lead to thermal discomfort even in this mild climate on an average day, mainly due to heat exchange by radiation. In addition, the impact of alterations to surface properties depends on the morphological characteristics of the site, e.g., high albedo of the pavement may lead to a decrease or an increase in mean radiant temperature, depending on the space. This variability is present in the effects observed at the studied sites. A high façade albedo always contributes, in these cases, to thermal discomfort. The conclusions of the present study highlight the importance of performing a specific study for each urban site whenever an intervention is to be planned.

Suggested Citation

  • Renato Soares & Helena Corvacho & Fernando Alves, 2021. "Summer Thermal Conditions in Outdoor Public Spaces: A Case Study in a Mediterranean Climate," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-26, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:10:p:5348-:d:552181
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/10/5348/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/10/5348/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lawton, M.P., 1974. "Social ecology and the health of older people," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 64(3), pages 257-260.
    2. Wang, Zhi-Hua & Zhao, Xiaoxi & Yang, Jiachuan & Song, Jiyun, 2016. "Cooling and energy saving potentials of shade trees and urban lawns in a desert city," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 437-444.
    3. Fernando Alves & Sara Cruz & Anabela Ribeiro & Ana Bastos Silva & João Martins & Inês Cunha, 2020. "Walkability Index for Elderly Health: A Proposal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-27, September.
    4. Rosso, Federica & Golasi, Iacopo & Castaldo, Veronica Lucia & Piselli, Cristina & Pisello, Anna Laura & Salata, Ferdinando & Ferrero, Marco & Cotana, Franco & de Lieto Vollaro, Andrea, 2018. "On the impact of innovative materials on outdoor thermal comfort of pedestrians in historical urban canyons," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 825-839.
    5. Jamei, Elmira & Rajagopalan, Priyadarsini & Seyedmahmoudian, Mohammadmehdi & Jamei, Yashar, 2016. "Review on the impact of urban geometry and pedestrian level greening on outdoor thermal comfort," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 1002-1017.
    6. Santamouris, M., 2013. "Using cool pavements as a mitigation strategy to fight urban heat island—A review of the actual developments," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 224-240.
    7. Agnieszka Janik & Adam Ryszko & Marek Szafraniec, 2020. "Scientific Landscape of Smart and Sustainable Cities Literature: A Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-39, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wang, Chenghao & Wang, Zhi-Hua & Kaloush, Kamil E. & Shacat, Joseph, 2021. "Cool pavements for urban heat island mitigation: A synthetic review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    2. Shi Yin & Werner Lang & Yiqiang Xiao & Zhao Xu, 2019. "Correlative Impact of Shading Strategies and Configurations Design on Pedestrian-Level Thermal Comfort in Traditional Shophouse Neighbourhoods, Southern China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-26, March.
    3. Hakima Necira & Mohamed Elhadi Matallah & Soumia Bouzaher & Waqas Ahmed Mahar & Atef Ahriz, 2024. "Effect of Street Asymmetry, Albedo, and Shading on Pedestrian Outdoor Thermal Comfort in Hot Desert Climates," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-30, February.
    4. Nazanin Nasrollahi & Amir Ghosouri & Jamal Khodakarami & Mohammad Taleghani, 2020. "Heat-Mitigation Strategies to Improve Pedestrian Thermal Comfort in Urban Environments: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-23, November.
    5. Bonggeun Song & Kyunghun Park, 2019. "Analysis of Spatiotemporal Urban Temperature Characteristics by Urban Spatial Patterns in Changwon City, South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-21, July.
    6. Taleghani, Mohammad, 2018. "Outdoor thermal comfort by different heat mitigation strategies- A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 2011-2018.
    7. Karol Bandurski & Hanna Bandurska & Ewa Kazimierczak-Grygiel & Halina Koczyk, 2020. "The Green Structure for Outdoor Places in Dry, Hot Regions and Seasons—Providing Human Thermal Comfort in Sustainable Cities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-24, June.
    8. Miguel Lopes & Fernando Alves, 2021. "Digital Tools to Foster Inclusiveness: Porto’s System of Accessible Itineraries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-16, May.
    9. Chiatti, Chiara & Kousis, Ioannis & Fabiani, Claudia & Pisello, Anna Laura, 2022. "Effect of optimized photoluminescence on luminous and passive cooling potential: A new combined experimental and numerical approach applied to yellow-emitting glass tiles," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 28-39.
    10. Toparlar, Y. & Blocken, B. & Maiheu, B. & van Heijst, G.J.F., 2017. "A review on the CFD analysis of urban microclimate," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1613-1640.
    11. Yaping Chen & Bohong Zheng & Yinze Hu, 2020. "Numerical Simulation of Local Climate Zone Cooling Achieved through Modification of Trees, Albedo and Green Roofs—A Case Study of Changsha, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-23, April.
    12. Shuangqing Sheng & Wei Song & Hua Lian & Lei Ning, 2022. "Review of Urban Land Management Based on Bibliometrics," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-25, November.
    13. Saveria Olga Murielle Boulanger, 2022. "The Roadmap to Smart Cities: A Bibliometric Literature Review on Smart Cities’ Trends before and after the COVID-19 Pandemic," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-19, December.
    14. Yu, Zhaowu & Chen, Tingting & Yang, Gaoyuan & Sun, Ranhao & Xie, Wei & Vejre, Henrik, 2020. "Quantifying seasonal and diurnal contributions of urban landscapes to heat energy dynamics," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    15. Łukasz Brzeziński & Magdalena Krystyna Wyrwicka, 2022. "Fundamental Directions of the Development of the Smart Cities Concept and Solutions in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-52, November.
    16. SangHyeok Lee & Donghyun Kim, 2022. "Multidisciplinary Understanding of the Urban Heating Problem and Mitigation: A Conceptual Framework for Urban Planning," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-15, August.
    17. Jamei, E. & Ossen, D.R. & Seyedmahmoudian, M. & Sandanayake, M. & Stojcevski, A. & Horan, B., 2020. "Urban design parameters for heat mitigation in tropics," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    18. Vera, Sergio & Pinto, Camilo & Tabares-Velasco, Paulo Cesar & Bustamante, Waldo, 2018. "A critical review of heat and mass transfer in vegetative roof models used in building energy and urban enviroment simulation tools," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 752-764.
    19. Ulpiani, Giulia, 2019. "Water mist spray for outdoor cooling: A systematic review of technologies, methods and impacts," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(C).
    20. Izabela Jonek-Kowalska & Radosław Wolniak, 2022. "Sharing Economies’ Initiatives in Municipal Authorities’ Perspective: Research Evidence from Poland in the Context of Smart Cities’ Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-22, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:10:p:5348-:d:552181. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.