Urban parks could play a major role in protecting people from rising heat, pollution and noise in cities, according to new research led by the University of Surrey’s Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE).
In a study published in City and Environment Interactions, researchers used high-frequency monitoring to assess how parks influence air temperature, particle pollution and noise levels.
The team carried out tests in and around Stoke Park, the largest park in Guildford, Surrey, consisting of 52 hectares of grassland, trees and gardens. The findings showed that PM10 pollution levels – airborne particles and liquid droplets that are 10 micrometers or less in diameter – were more than 11 percent lower inside the park during the morning compared with nearby built-up areas. Morning temperatures were also reduced by 6.5 percent.
Throughout the day, temperatures inside the park consistently stayed several degrees cooler, with neighboring areas feeling the effects. For every 100 meters travelled away from the park edge into built-up streets, temperatures warmed by more than half a degree, up to 300 meters beyond the park boundary.
Noise pollution also dropped steadily with distance from roads, decreasing by 5.41 decibels (dB) inside park areas – enough for most people to perceive a noticeable difference in noise.
Professor Prashant Kumar, Founding Director of GCARE and corresponding author of the study, said:
“Our work shows that parks can bring measurable cuts in heat, pollution and noise both inside parks and across surrounding neighborhoods. This provides stronger evidence for planners and policymakers looking to design healthier and more climate-resilient towns and cities.”
The study also showed that tree-shaded and grassland areas significantly improved thermal comfort. Tree cover and grassland reduced Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET) – a measure of how hot conditions feel to the human body – by as much as 8.5 °C compared with nearby built-up streets.
Soheila Khalili, Postgraduate Researcher at the University of Surrey’s GCARE, said:
“This is proof that the benefits of parks extend far beyond their boundaries. Shaded areas with trees particularly improved thermal comfort during hotter periods of the day.
“Cities are having to adapt more and more as the climate continues to warm, so understanding exactly how parks improve environmental conditions can help guide more effective urban design.”
The research provides an integrated, fine-scale assessment of how urban parks perform under real-world summer conditions. The findings have direct implications for urban planning and policy, offering new evidence on the effectiveness of parks in mitigating urban heat, pollution and noise while helping cities become more climate resilient.
This work was conducted as part of the NERC-FAPESP GreenCities project and builds on the extensive research led by Professor Kumar’s GCARE team through UKRI-funded initiatives, including the RECLAIM Network Plus and GP4Streets projects.