Comfort in the canopy: How urban treescapes affect human thermal comfort in a temperate climate

Abstract People living in urban centres are exposed to higher levels of heat stress than those living outside of these areas; this is intensified by the urban heat island effect. Heat stress is a concern for the more vulnerable members of society and can exacerbate many medical conditions; excessive heat increases morbidity and mortality rates. Green infrastructure can help to mitigate against excessive urban heat and provide more thermally comfortable environments. This paper presents data from a high spatial and temporal resolution microclimate sensor network in the city of Leeds, United Kingdom. Sensors are installed in grey spaces and green spaces, including small city centre parks, large suburban parks and treescapes. Analysis focuses on two summer periods (June–August 2023 and 2024). These data demonstrate that treescapes offer the greatest relief from excessive urban heat when compared with other greenspaces. Urban treescapes were a mean of 1.4°C cooler than surrounding grey spaces, compared with a difference of 0.7°C between parks and grey spaces. During peak air temperature periods, parks were up to 2.8°C cooler, and treescapes were up to 5°C cooler than grey urban spaces. Universal Thermal Climate Index calculations demonstrate that the urban treescapes consistently provide lower exposure to heat stress; when sub‐canopy solar radiation levels are considered, treescapes expose citizens to 96% fewer hours of strong heat stress and 64% fewer hours of moderate heat stress than urban grey spaces. Results presented in this paper support the retention and expansion of urban greenspaces and urban treescapes; specifically, they also have important implications for a range of associated issues including citizen health and well‐being, inclusive, just access, urban planning and policy development. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.