Thermal comfort of a walking environment under an elevated urban railway: A case study of Taichung overpass.

For urban environmental managers confronting the considerable challenges and impacts of both rapid urbanization and climate change, improving cities' walking environments has emerged as an important sustainable development strategy. The thermal comfort of the walking environment is a key factor that affects its frequency of use and users' satisfaction. For that reason, the shade provided by elevated railways has often been taken into account by those planning sustainable urban green belts and walking spaces. However, academic research on thermal comfort is rare and has mostly focused on indoor environments. Accordingly, this study uses wet-bulb globe temperature to evaluate a particular area of green space under a railway overpass, in terms of the factors driving urban pedestrians' thermal comfort in this outdoor environment. The results indicate that the amount of shade, greening, and ventilation are influential factors on walkers' thermal comfort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]