A study on the impact of green infrastructure on microclimate and thermal comfort

Abstract

This study focuses on exploring the impact of urban forms and vegetation combination patterns on the microclimate in a complex urban environment. Results shown that the closed urban form has higher air temperature resulting in pedestrians are easier to feel heat stress; instead, the open urban form usually has higher wind speed. Vegetation can effectively reduce wind speed while reducing the change rate of the mean radiant temperature. However, the effect on air temperature and humidity are most distinct in the morning. Trees and shrubs could improve the surrounding thermal comfort conditions by reducing heat stress, but this effect depends on the density of the leaf area. More importantly, study has not found that the ground cover plants contribute to the improvement of thermal comfort.