Mor, Gaya (2024) Urban park on a brownfield redevelopment site in Rotterdam, the Netherlands: a thermal comfort analysis for greening ratios. Master thesis.
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Abstract
With urbanization on the rise, there are pressures for outdoor green spaces. In addition, built environments are increasing and generating urban heat islands (UHI). Urban parks on brownfield redevelopment sites are seen as sustainable transformations for cities, these have the potential to contribute to mitigating the UHI effect. This thesis aims to explore ways to raise the thermal comfort level through the ratio of greenery in an urban park. While research is available on thermal comfort studies regarding urban parks, thermal comfort in urban parks situated on brownfield redevelopment sites was not previously researched. The case study, the urban park Kaappark in Katendrecht Rotterdam, a waterfront brownfield redevelopment site, was investigated for thermal comfort by increasing greenery ratios through trees and hedges. With Rotterdam’s aim for greening and densification, the case study localizes suggestions related to vegetation and surface material in line with raising thermal comfort. Thus, Kaappark examines to what extent greenery and surface material reduce the temperature. The method consists of a literature review, on-site observations, and scenario building and simulating with varying greenery ratios using ENVI-met. ENVI-met is a widely used microclimate simulation software to assess thermal comfort. Specifically, potential air temperature (PAT), physiologically equivalent temperature (PET), and universal thermal climate index (UTCI) were discussed concerning the thermal comfort of the urban park. The results concluded that increasing greenery ratios in Kaappark slightly improves thermal comfort. The lowest temperature values were associated with areas of trees, hedges, and grass compared to areas of asphalt, red brick, and concrete. Localization of suggestions for the Netherlands does not apply to other countries due to specific microclimate conditions such as wind speed. Future research regarding the effect of tree heights and species on thermal comfort could provide more exact suggestions for policy recommendations.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
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| Degree programme: | Society, Sustainability and Planning (MSc Socio-spatial Planning) |
| Supervisor: | Assarkhaniki, Z. |
| Date Deposited: | 23 Sep 2024 12:40 |
| Last Modified: | 23 Sep 2024 12:40 |
| URI: | https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/4619 |
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