CoolGreen examines cooling benefits of urban nature in dense urban environments.
CoolGreen is a research project led by Aalto University and University of Helsinki and funded by Helsinki Capital Region Research Collaboration in 2025-2026. The project explores the cooling potential of urban vegetation as a means of climate adaptation in dense land use. We assess and model the climate impacts of densification and urban greening and produce science-based knowledge and recommendations for land use and strategic climate work in Espoo, Helsinki and Vantaa.
We will answer the questions: 1) How does urban nature (quantity, quality, distribution) influence the heat island effect in dense urban structures and 2) How effectively can greening influence temperatures in densely built-up areas?
Our project is divided into three phases: a city-level analysis of Helsinki, greening scenarios in case neighbourhoods in Espoo, Helsinki and Vantaa, and recommendations for integrating the cooling benefits of urban greening into planning.
Picture: Mikko Raskinen, Aalto University