Urban vegetation as a strategy to reduce heat island effects in the Mediterranean climate context, Lisbon - Portugal

The use of trees in cities is an important strategy for beauty and health in the urban context. The shading strategy provoked by the trees, in turn, promotes besides the beauty, thermal gains important for the increase of the sensation of comfort of the user, and the quality of the air of the city. In the city of Lisbon, an important avenue - Republic Avenue will undergo urban intervention, with an increase in the area of afforestation and expansion of mobility corridors (bike path and pedestrian sidewalks). In this sense, the objective of this article is to evaluate the thermal gain of the increase of afforestation along the Republic avenue. For this, the research method uses the ENVI-met microclimatic modeling software, through the tool it is possible to compare the current situation of the road with the urban afforestation increment project - where double the number of trees in the avenue. The results show that the intervention in the avenue provided an increase in the level of comfort by reducing the PMV index and reducing the air temperature in addition to increasing the relative humidity rate of the air. The article concludes that other places around Republic Avenue were also benefited by the reduction of air temperature values ??and increase of humidity. The research proves that the alteration of the urban design of a road can positively influence the comfort of the surroundings. With the new avenue project there was a reduction of up to 3 degrees celcius in the afternoon hours. There was an increase in humidity from 50 to 70% in the morning and from 40 to 50% in the afternoon. This article show that the use of trees in this climatic type creates more comfortable areas and mitigating the negative effects of the urban heat island.