Microclimate design for open spaces: Ranking urban design effects on pedestrian thermal comfort in summer

•Microclimate studies of an urban square and a courtyard in summer conditions.•Simulations with selected computational tools tested against measured data.•Assessment of the effects of geometry, materials, soil humidity, vegetation, water.•Ranking design parameters based of their influence on pedestrian comfort indices.•Significant impact of trees, soil humidity, albedo, spatial and temporal variations.