Urban green spaces reduce elevated urban temperature through evaporative cooling and shading and are thus promoted
as nature-based solutions to enhance urban climates. However, in growing cities, the supply of urban green space often
conflicts with increasing housing demand. This study investigates the interplay of densification and the availability of green
space and its impact on human heat stress in summer. For the case of an open-midrise (local climate zone 5) urban redevelopment
site in Munich, eight densification scenarios were elaborated with city planners and evaluated by microscale
simulations in ENVI-met. The chosen scenarios consider varying building heights, different types of densification, amount
of vegetation and parking space regulations. The preservation of existing trees has the greatest impact on the physical
equivalent temperature (PET). Construction of underground car parking results in the removal of the tree population. Loss
of all the existing trees due to parking space consumption leads to an average daytime PET increase of 5°C compared to
the current situation. If the parking space requirement is halved, the increase in PET can be reduced to 1.3°C–1.7°C in
all scenarios. The addition of buildings leads to a higher gain in living space than the addition of floors, but night-time
thermal comfort is affected by poor ventilation if fresh air circulation is blocked. The protection of mature trees in urban
redevelopment strategies will become more relevant in the changing climate. Alternative mobility strategies could help to
reduce trade-offs between densification and urban greening.
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Urban green spaces reduce elevated urban temperature through evaporative cooling and shading and are thus promoted
as nature-based solutions to enhance urban climates. However, in growing cities, the supply of urban green space often
conflicts with increasing housing demand. This study investigates the interplay of densification and the availability of green
space and its impact on human heat stress in summer. For the case of an open-midrise (local climate zone 5) urban redevelopment
site in...
»