A climatic study of an urban green space: the Gulbenkian Park in Lisbon (Portugal)

Measurements of various climatic parameters were carried out in an average-sized green space in the centre of Lisbon (the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian Park). The aims consisted of assessing the thermal differentiation between the park and the surrounding built-up area and analysing the microclimatic patterns within the park itself. The main results demonstrate that the park is cooler than the built-up area in all the seasons and both during the daytime and at night, but especially so in the daytime during the summer. The most significant microclimatic contrasts were found to occur with respect to solar radiation and mean radiant temperature, with consequences upon the level of thermal comfort. The structure of the vegetation was also found to have a significant microclimatic influence, since the reduction in the level of incident solar radiation brought on by the presence of groups of trees was much larger than that associated with isolated trees.