Experimental investigation on the thermal comfort in the city:: relationship with the green areas, interaction with the urban microclimate

This paper describes the methodology developed by the authors to analyze the influence of "green areas" on the urban comfort of the city of Valencia, taken as the prototype of Mediterranean cities. Based on the analysis of its climatological conditions, different "comfort indices" are used to study several characteristic districts of the city of Valencia which globally define the urban behavior of this city. Some of these comfort indices have been formulated in terms of the existing green areas; the results obtained permit to know the surface of the green areas required by each district to be considered theoretically comfortable. This methodology can be very useful to urban planners in the design and distribution of green areas in cities. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.