Abstract
This paper presents research carried out in the city of Chillán, a medium size city located on the southern limit of the Chilean Mediterranean domain, at 36°36′s south latitude. Chillán provides a good representative example of warm summers in central and southern Chilean cities. Five public spaces were selected, representing different typologies and relating to different urban background conditions. Users in these public spaces were observed, counted and photographed five times a day (12, 14, 16, 18 and 20 h, local time) during a heat wave event in the summer of 2016, while meteorological parameters were measured at different points within the public space. The variables evaluated were impervious surfaces, sky view factor, H/W, azimuth, shadow, and radiation. Local public environmental management should pay attention to the complex relations between urban climate, public spaces and thermal comfort since they affect the quality of life of the most vulnerable sectors of the population. This is particularly important given the increasing episodes of elevated temperatures and intense heat waves which have occurred in the city of Chillán in recent summers, which are related to urban heat islands and climate change.
Highlights
Public spaces are significant for the habitability and quality of urban life
Chillán public spaces were classified into seven groups: median strip, soccer field, sports center, Chillán public spaces were into seven groups: strip, soccer sports center, stream border, park, square andclassified pedestrian walk
There are 323median public spaces with a field, total area of 84.2 stream border, park, square and pedestrian walk
Summary
Interactions, contacts, interpersonal relations and diverse activities occur within these spaces. The latter characterizes the functioning and essence of the city [1]. These factors are modified by the morphological components of the urban environment under the urban canopy layer (UCL), resulting in specific microclimatic conditions [2,3]. Among these parameters are the vegetal cover, impervious surfaces, sky view factor, orientation, and the height-width ratio (H/W). These factors define thermal comfort conditions and, the use of public spaces
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