Using cool paving materials to improve microclimate of urban areas - design realisation and result of the flisvos project

The present paper deals with the application of 4500 square meters of reflective pavements in an urban park in the greater Athens area. The aim was to improve thermal comfort conditions, reduce the strength of heat island and improve the global environmental quality in the considered area. It was estimated that the use of cool pavements contributes to decrease the peak ambient temperature during a typical summer day, up to 1.9 C. In parallel, the surface temperature in the park was reduced up to 12 C while comfort conditions have been improved considerably. It is concluded that the use of reflective pavements is a very efficient mitigation technique to improve thermal conditions in open urban areas.