{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,2]],"date-time":"2026-04-02T04:26:37Z","timestamp":1775103997547,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":70,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,11]],"date-time":"2021-05-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1620691200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e a Tecnologia FCT\/MCTES (PIDDAC)","award":["Base Funding UIDB\/04708\/2020 of CONSTRUCT - Instituto de I&D em Estruturas e Constru\u00e7\u00f5es"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Base Funding UIDB\/04708\/2020 of CONSTRUCT - Instituto de I&D em Estruturas e Constru\u00e7\u00f5es"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sustainability"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Comfort in public spaces is essential to their attractiveness and continued role in improving human quality of life. Acceptable thermal conditions are determinant to ensuring users\u2019 comfort. This study undertakes an assessment of three urban sites in Arouca, in the north of Portugal, using ENVI-met software. Simulations test the influence of pavement and fa\u00e7ade covering material, vegetation, and site morphology. The climate of the region is classified as Mediterranean Csb, with rainy winters and dry and mildly warm summers. A typical summer day is considered. The results reveal that a combination of factors might lead to thermal discomfort even in this mild climate on an average day, mainly due to heat exchange by radiation. In addition, the impact of alterations to surface properties depends on the morphological characteristics of the site, e.g., high albedo of the pavement may lead to a decrease or an increase in mean radiant temperature, depending on the space. This variability is present in the effects observed at the studied sites. A high fa\u00e7ade albedo always contributes, in these cases, to thermal discomfort. The conclusions of the present study highlight the importance of performing a specific study for each urban site whenever an intervention is to be planned.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/su13105348","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,11]],"date-time":"2021-05-11T22:53:40Z","timestamp":1620773620000},"page":"5348","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["Summer Thermal Conditions in Outdoor Public Spaces: A Case Study in a Mediterranean Climate"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Renato","family":"Soares","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"CONSTRUCT (LFC), Faculty of Engineering (FEUP), University of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"CITTA, Faculty of Engineering (FEUP), University of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0398-3423","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Helena","family":"Corvacho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CONSTRUCT (LFC), Faculty of Engineering (FEUP), University of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5993-528X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fernando","family":"Alves","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CITTA, Faculty of Engineering (FEUP), University of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"United Nations (2021, March 23). 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