ICUC12-843, updated on 21 May 2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/icuc12-843
12th International Conference on Urban Climate
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Impact of an urban forest on pedestrian heat stress and UHI mitigation in Paris
Charbel Abboud1,2, Maxime Chaumont4, Maxence Grados4, Sarah Joffrin4, Martin Hendel1,3, and Laurent Royon1
Charbel Abboud et al.
  • 1Université Paris Cité, LIED, UMR 8236, CNRS, F-75013, Paris, France
  • 2City of Paris, Ecological Transition and Climate Department (ETCD) & Roads and Transportation Department (RTD), Paris, France
  • 3Univ Gustave Eiffel, ESIEE Paris, départment SEED, F-93162, Noisy-le-Grand, France
  • 4Urban Cooling Solutions, F-77420, Champs-sur-Marne, France

Global warming and heat waves are expected to amplify the vulnerability of major cities during the 21st Century. This risk may exacerbate the effects of Urban Heat Island (UHI). In response, adaptation measures are being studied for urban areas.

As part of its adaptation strategy, the City of Paris is working on various projects to create urban cool islands in order to limit the pedestrian heat stress during heatwave periods. One of these is to create several urban forests, including the Bois de Charonne Forest along the Petite Ceinture near Porte de Vincennes in the East of Paris. The urban forest opens a new portion of the petite ceinture to the public with a high proportion of vegetation following the planting of many trees. The microclimatic effects of the creation of the urban forest is studied to evaluate its impact on pedestrian heat stress and UHI intensity.

Fixed and mobile microclimatic measurement campaigns were conducted before (summer 2023) and after (summer 2024) site transformation and vegetation planting. Three fixed weather stations are used. Two are located in different zones of the urban forest, and a third serves as a control station outside the site. Mobile measurements were carried out at specific locations to increase the study’s spatial coverage.

Observations indicate a small improvement of microclimatic conditions depending on the area studied.

How to cite: Abboud, C., Chaumont, M., Grados, M., Joffrin, S., Hendel, M., and Royon, L.: Impact of an urban forest on pedestrian heat stress and UHI mitigation in Paris, 12th International Conference on Urban Climate, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 7–11 Jul 2025, ICUC12-843, https://doi.org/10.5194/icuc12-843, 2025.

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