Effect of Urban Greenspaces on Residential Buildings’ Energy Consumption: Case Study in a Mediterranean Climate

The paper is part of the scientific research sector concerning the government of urban transformations in order to promote efficiency and reduction of energy consumption in urban areas. In this study, urban greenspaces (green areas) are proposed as a strategy for cities to achieve both urban sustainability and resilience while addressing the issues of energy reduction and climate change adaptation. The study investigated the microclimate impact of greenspaces on the cooling energy needs of residential buildings in Naples, Italy, given different urban fabric characteristics by coupling the microclimate model ENVI-met with the building energy model EnergyPlus. The charts resulted from the study could represent an useful decision support tool for urban planners and policy-makers to locate and size greenspaces based on their effectiveness in terms of energy consumption reduction. The study found that—in general—a medium-size green area (4900 m2) would reduce the cooling energy consumption by 9.20% which is more than double the effect of a large green area (32400 m2).