Falchetta et al. (2026) Street green space is relevant but not sufficient for adapting to growing urban heat in world cities

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Environmental Research Letters
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-04-07
• Authors: Giacomo Falchetta, Steffen Lohrey, Niels Souverijns, Dirk Lauwaet, C. F. Schleussner, Leila Niamir
• DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ae5c20

Research Groups

Not available from the abstract.

Short Summary

This study empirically estimates the heat stress reduction potential of street green space (SGS) across 133 cities globally using a microclimate model and a high-resolution greenness indicator, finding that while SGS expansion can offset a small percentage (2-11%) of projected urban heat increase by 2050, it is insufficient alone to adapt to growing urban heat stress.

Objective

• To empirically estimate the heat stress reduction potential of street green space (SGS) across global and local climate zones in 133 cities worldwide, and to quantify its effectiveness and limits in mitigating projected urban heat stress until 2050 under different climate change scenarios.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: 133 cities worldwide, covering global and local climate zones, with a resolution of 100 meters for urban microclimate modeling.
• Temporal Scale: Daily outputs for air temperature and Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT); future scenarios explored until 2050, compared against a 2008-2017 climatology.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: UrbClim, a 100-meter resolution urban microclimate model.
• Data sources: Daily air temperature and Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) outputs from UrbClim; Green View Index (GVI) as a high-resolution street green space indicator.

Main Results

• The interquartile range for SGS cooling efficiency for maximum WBGT is estimated at [-0.03, -0.01] °C/GVI, with significant variation across global and local climatic zones.
• Ambitious yet locally feasible SGS expansion could offset 3-11% (interquartile range across cities) of the projected increase in maximum WBGT under a current policies climate change scenario by 2050.
• Under the SSP5-8.5 climate change scenario, SGS expansion could offset 2-7% of the projected increase in maximum WBGT by 2050, compared to a 2008-2017 climatology.
• SGS expansion is identified as an effective but insufficient strategy to adapt to growing urban heat stress globally.
• Reduced SGS due to administrative inaction or climate impacts on vegetation health may exacerbate urban heat.

Contributions

• Provides empirical estimates of SGS heat stress reduction potential using air temperature and Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT), moving beyond surface temperature and green space density metrics.
• Offers evidence spanning across a diverse range of 133 urban and climate contexts globally, addressing a gap in existing literature.
• Quantifies the potential and limits of SGS expansion for urban heat adaptation through reality-bounded scenarios until 2050, informing policymakers on its role within a broader adaptation portfolio.

Funding

Not available from the abstract.

Citation

@article{Falchetta2026Street,
  author = {Falchetta, Giacomo and Lohrey, Steffen and Souverijns, Niels and Lauwaet, Dirk and Schleussner, C. F. and Niamir, Leila},
  title = {Street green space is relevant but not sufficient for adapting to growing urban heat in world cities},
  journal = {Environmental Research Letters},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1088/1748-9326/ae5c20},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ae5c20}
}