Heat stress mitigation by trees and shelters at bus stops

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2025

Subject Area

place - north america, mode - bus, planning - personal safety/crime, infrastructure - stop

Keywords

Shade, Climate change adaptation, Maladaptation, Vegetation, Heat exposure, Climate-resilient transit

Abstract

Municipalities are attempting to create safe and comfortable transit systems in the face of climate change. Herein, we determined how trees and different shelter designs impact heat stress at bus stops. Over 13 summer days in 2023, we used sensors to measure wet bulb globe temperature in the shade from trees and four different shelter designs to compare with unshaded areas at 17 bus stops in Houston, Texas. Results from multilevel linear mixed effects modeling revealed that tree-shaded areas were 3.2 °C (5.8 °F) cooler than unshaded areas (p < 0.001). Shelters provided less cooling than trees, and enclosed shelters were less effective than open designs. Further, heat stress was more than 3 °C (5.4 °F) higher under unshaded, enclosed shelters than unshaded areas outside of shelters (p < 0.001). Tree planting at transit stops may be a top option to improve heat safety, and shelters, if improperly designed, may be a form of maladaptation, amplifying health risk.

Rights

Permission to publish the abstract has been given by Elsevier, copyright remains with them.

Comments

Transportation Research Part D Home Page:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/13619209

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