Influence of path design cooling strategies on thermal conditions and pedestrian walkability in high-rise residential complexes

Abstract

Intensive urbanization exacerbates overheating in cities, leading to negative impacts on human health. Although numerous studies have investigated the improvement of pedestrian comfort through street-level treatments, few have examined the influence on pedestrian walkability, and the spatial extent of cooling effects from paths to adjacent areas remains unevaluated. This study assesses the cooling effects of different mitigation strategies on four thermal indicators—surface temperature (Tsurf), air temperature (Ta), mean radiant temperature (MRT), and physiological equivalent temperature (PET)—using ENVI-met simulations. We employ Agent-based Models (ABM) to analyze pedestrian walkability through perceived travel time (PTT). The study focuses on two high-rise residential complexes in Suwon City, South Korea, and compares reflective pavement, single-row tree planting, and clustered tree planting mitigation strategies. Results indicate that single-row planting offers more significant cooling effects across the entire site compared to other strategies, while clustered planting improves local heat conditions. Cooling effects extend from the path to the entire block, with single-row planting reducing Tsurf by up to 5.5 °C, Ta by 0.2 °C, MRT by 16.2 °C, and PET by 5.8 °C at 12.72 m away from paths during the hottest hours. ABM results suggest that single-row planting provides the best PTT reduction and can be up to 36.24 %. The proposed framework and findings provide urban designers with a data-driven approach to optimize pedestrian thermal comfort and walkability.