Author(s)

L. Rodriguez Potes, S. Hanrot, M. A. Dabat, J. L. Izard

Abstract

This study is part of a doctoral thesis on the thermal environment in urban green areas in a Mediterranean climate. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how urban spaces are subjected to the thermal influences of planting trees. It is based on the air temperature measurements in summer in several streets with trees in Aix-en Provence city in France. The results reveal the effects of trees in cooling the air temperature, according to planting parameters: the foliage percentage, the tree coverage coefficient, the planting distance and the street orientation. The conclusions show that street orientation seems to be more important on the air temperature than the foliage percentage itself, the planting distance and the tree coverage. The contribution of the foliage percentage is insignificant in east-west streets (E-W) (The difference between the street without trees and the street with tree is 0.2°C) and the role of tree coverage coefficient is not certain in this orientation. The results of this study could be used to quantify thermal comfort in outdoor spaces including urban trees and their impact on energy consumption.

Keywords

urban trees, urban microclimate, air temperature