Abstract
This study aims to measure and to analyze the thermal environment characteristics of the various permeable pavement materials such as grass pavement (GREEN BLOCK PARK), stone and grass pavement (GREEN BLOCK STEP), stone pavement (GREEN BLOCK MOSAIC) and wood pavement (WOOD BLOCK) under the summer outdoor environment. The thermal environment characteristics measured in the study includes the changes of surface temperature during the day, changes of the temperature on each pavement layer, and long and short wave radiation of each pavement surface. The experimental condition is based on the data on the hottest temperature (August 5, 2005, $34.0^{\circ}C$) of the you. Some of main findings are: 1) The heat environment was worse on the wood pavements than on the stone pavement. This is mainly due to the low albedo of the wood pavements (0.37) while the albedo value of stone pavements is 0.41. Small heat capacity of the wood pavements also contributes to this difference. 2) The heat environment was worse on the stone pavements than on the turf pavements. This was mainly due to the evapotranspiration of the plant growth layer of the turf pavements. 3) The peak surface temperature was the highest on the wood pavements ($56.1^{\circ}C$). The peak surface temperatures on the stone pavements, the stone-grass pavements and the grass pavements were $43.1^{\circ}C,\;40.1^{\circ}C\;and\;37.9^{\circ}C$, respectively. 4) To improve the thermal environments in the urban area, it is recommended to raise the albedo of the pavements by brightening the surface color of the pavement materials. Further studies on the pavement materials and the construction methods which can enhance the continuous evapotranspiration from the pavements surface are needed.
