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Hot−humid areas have long, hot summers and poor outdoor thermal comfort (OTC). The urban heat island (UHI) effect exacerbates the deterioration of OTC in hot−humid areas, seriously affecting the thermal safety of children’s outdoor activities. In this study, 60 scenes were simulated using ENVI−met based on different leaf area index (LAI) and planting arrangements to explore how tree LAI and planting arrangements affect the small−scale thermal environment during hot summer months and to assess OTC using the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI). The research shows that (1) high LAI trees optimize OTC more than low LAI trees, but low LAI trees can be planted multiple times to achieve the level of optimization of high LAI trees; (2) increasing the number of trees optimizes the OTC of the study area, reducing the UTCI by up to 3.7 °C with increased planting compared to unshaded areas; (3) thickening the shade in the east‒west direction optimizes the OTC of the study area more than thickening the shade in the north–south direction, with too much north–south shade optimizing the OTC of the study area by only 0.01%. This study provides practical advice for the design of planting in outdoor CAS in hot−humid areas.

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Hot and humid areas experience constant high temperatures and high humidity during summer, causing widespread concern about outdoor thermal discomfort. This paper investigates the effects of landscape design strategies on outdoor thermal environments during typical summer and winter weather conditions in the hot–humid areas of China. The physiological equivalent temperature (PET) is used for evaluating the thermal performance of the proposed outdoor environments. ENVI-met software was validated via field measurements for this study and was used to evaluate the outdoor thermal environment under typical summer and winter weather conditions. Three kinds of common landscape elements were analyzed: tree species, pavement, and water bodies. The results show that (1) by properly arranging landscape elements, the PET can be reduced by up to 1.6 °C in summer without sacrificing relevant thermal comfort during winter. (2) Arbors with high leaf area density (LAD) values performed better than those with a low LAD value for improved outdoor thermal comfort. (3) The influence of pavement on outdoor thermal comfort differs when under conditions with and without shade. This study provides practical suggestions for landscape design in open spaces within hot–humid areas.

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