Evaluation of Landscape Design in Urban Parks and Urban Forests on Thermal Comfort

Abstract

The city of Banda Aceh is experiencing significant land use change due to rapid development, which causes an increase in land surface temperature and encourages climate change. One of the mitigation measures that can be taken is the provision of Green Open Spaces (GOS) such as parks and urban forests that function to maintain microclimate balance. However, current green space designs tend to replace soft elements such as grass with dark-colored hard pavement that has a low albedo, thus exacerbating the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. This study evaluates the landscape design of thermal comfort in BNI Tibang Urban Forest and BNI Trembesi Urban Park through a quantitative approach of observation, field measurements and questionnaires. The variables analyzed included landscape elements (grass, trees, soil, water, concrete, paving blocks, and ceramics) and microclimate variables (air temperature, ground surface temperature, average radiant temperature, globe temperature, air velocity and humidity). Vegetation distribution was analyzed with NDVI, while park configuration and material variations were simulated using ENVI-met, with the PET comfort index as an indicator. Results show that vegetated areas have 2-3°C lower temperatures and provide better thermal comfort. Simulation and questionnaire data support these findings, where high vegetation density reduces temperature by 1.8°C and improves thermal comfort. Therefore, landscape design that prioritizes soft elements and reduces the use of hard elements can improve thermal comfort and become a reference in the development of adaptive green spaces in urban areas, especially in Banda Aceh.