The Influence of Pocket Parks on Microclimate Conditions and Pedestrian Comfort in Urban Neighborhoods

Apostolos Gkentsidis¹, Angeliki Chatzidimitriou¹, and Anastasios Tellios²

1. School of Science and Technology, Hellenic Open University, Greece

2. School of Architecture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

Abstract: Global warming and the urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon threat to render open urban spaces hostile or even dangerous during summer days. The problem concerns a great part of the world population considering the ongoing assemblage of people in cities. Enriching the urban fabric with natural landscapes qualifies as the best solution. However, the redevelopment of the functional parts of the urban fabric is a particularly difficult task, especially in times of financial crisis, but small, unused pieces of land which are often found in cities, can be more easily converted into green neighborhood parks (pocket parks). To investigate the impact of the dispersion of these spaces on the urban microclimate, the present study analyzes a section of eleven building blocks in the center of the city of Serres, in northern Greece. Concerning the hypothesis of the conversion of ten existing unused small spaces into parks, the result is the improvement of the climatic quantities and thermal comfort during the summer season. In conclusion, the dispersion of small neighborhood parks in the city is a useful tool to mitigate the UHI phenomenon and at the same time a method of upgrading the urban fabric and the quality of life of the residents.