Apparent Temperature Index on different types of urban surface covers within a city park of Florence

Thermal comfort in urban environment is influenced by urban design at the micro-scale, furthermore the type of ground cover is crucial since it can affect microclimate. One approach to mitigate the human health consequences of high temperatures in urban areas is urban greening. The cooling effect of parks has been investigated by many authors, and it is defined by the Park Cool Island index. In this study, thermal comfort variability at pedestrian level (almost 2 meters from the ground) of the biggest city park of Florence is estimated. Apparent Temperature index (AT) was calculated on different types of urban surface covers within the park by using a Temperature was found on the sandstone surface, followed by asphalt and irrigated lawn in the sun. While, the lowest values of Apparent Temperature, corresponding to a higher thermal comfort, were registered on the two surfaces in the shade (lawn and gravel), with a difference between the highest AT value and the lowest of about 9 °C. The results of our work evidence that thermal comfort vary significantly inside the park according to shading together with the type of surface. These results suggest a significant effect of the type of surface on thermal comfort, but also on human health. This information might help urban planners during the design process of sustainable urban spaces in order to consider also citizen’s thermal comfort.