F05 - Pocket Parks as Nature-Based Solutions for Thermal Comfort, Urban Sustainability, and Community Participation

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Pocket parks are increasingly recognized as valuable small-scale urban green spaces that enhance thermal comfort, urban sustainability, and community wellbeing. In dense urban environments where space is limited, they offer flexible nature-based solutions to address urban heat stress, climate adaptation, and social needs. These approaches provide multiple co-benefits, including heat reduction, biodiversity support, and improved human wellbeing, and are particularly effective when combined with local participation and engagement (Kabisch et al., 2016; Kabisch et al., 2017; WHO, 2020).
Pocket parks are especially relevant for studying thermal comfort, as their performance is shaped by vegetation structure, canopy cover, shading, materials, and spatial configuration. Research highlights the importance of vegetation arrangement and the interaction between green and built elements for cooling effects. At the same time, their success depends on accessibility, maintenance, safety, and user perception (Wang et al., 2024; Wang et al., 2025). They should therefore be understood as socio-environmental systems where climatic, spatial, and social factors interact.
This F-Project is embedded in an international cooperation between the City of Dortmund and the City of Trabzon (Turkey) within their sister-city agreement. In collaboration with the City of Dortmund and Karadeniz Technical University (KTÜ), selected sites in both cities serve as real-world case studies, providing a practice-oriented project with direct relevance to urban development. Students will investigate pocket parks as nature-based solutions by combining urban climate analysis, spatial assessment, and community-oriented approaches, focusing on thermal comfort and user experience. Subject to funding availability (e.g., DAAD or Erasmus),
opportunities for collaboration with students from KTÜ may include virtual exchange or a field trip to Trabzon or vice versa.

Recommended Methodologies:
This course adopts an interdisciplinary mixed-method approach combining qualitative insights with quantitative analyses:
• Microclimate observation and basic thermal assessment, including shading analysis and documentation of vegetation and material characteristics; where possible, simple measurements will be used to relate thermal conditions to spatial features (Bruse & Fleer, 1998)
• Mapping and field studies of pocket parks in Dortmund, including site visits, and collection of environmental and usage data 
• Spatial and behavioral mapping to analyze site configuration, accessibility, movement patterns, and park use through observation and documentation
• Community participation through short interviews, questionnaires, or focus groups to understand user perceptions and needs
• Comparative case-based analysis to identify context-sensitive strategies and transferable insights
• Workshop sessions on research methods, data analysis, scientific writing, and presentation skills

By participating in this course project :
• Students will understand how pocket parks function as nature-based solutions in dense urban contexts
• Students will link thermal comfort, environmental assessment, and community participation within one framework
• Students will develop skills in research design, literature review, field data collection, and critical interpretation
• Students will gain experience in academic writing and evidence-based argumentation
• Students will explore the relationship between urban climate adaptation, public space quality, and green infrastructure