Design guidelines for thermally comfortable and attractive streetscapes in harbour areas

2015, tutors: Wiebke Klemm, Sanda Lenzholzer, student: Christy Tang

This research investigated impacts of three types of street greenery (low horizontal vegetation, green facades and street trees) on people’s long-term thermal perception and aesthetic appreciation in a harbour context. The case area was the Merwe Vierhaven in Rotterdam, The Netherlands (in collaboration with municipality of Rotterdam). Online and face-to-face surveys in the city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands were done in 2014. For four typical harbour zones (port-industrial; new business; residential; residential waterfront) different green types (no vegetation, ground vegetation, wall vegetation, trees) were simulated in photorealistic images. These images were visually evaluated by local people. Survey data were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic coding. The findings indicate a positive impact of street greenery on long-term thermal perception and attractiveness in harbour areas, confirming earlier findings. From all investigated green types, trees were top-ranked for improving thermal perception (mean 3.84) and attractiveness (mean 3.68) on a scale range of 1-4; whereas no vegetation in all zones was ranked lowest. Low and wall vegetation was evaluated similarly for both aspects. Please find the MSc thesis here.