A thesis defense presentation example from question to contribution

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1. Shade in the city: street trees and summer heat

   PHD THESIS DEFENCE · LEILA HADDAD · SCHOOL OF GEOGRAPHY, BROOKFIELD UNIVERSITY

   01Cover

   Shade in the city: street trees and summer heat

   PhD thesis defence · Leila Haddad · School of Geography, Brookfield University

2. 02Agenda

   Outline of the defence

   • The research question
   • Study design and data
   • Key findings
   • Contribution
   • Limitations and next steps
3. 03Section

   The research question

   How much do street trees cool a city block, and who benefits?

4. 04Key numbers

   Three summers of data across 48 city blocks

   Each tree-lined block was paired with a nearby control of similar density, so canopy is the main difference.

   • 48 — City blocks studied
   • 312 — Street-level loggers
   • 2.1M — Hourly readings
   • 3 — Summers, 2023–2025
5. 05Chart

   Blocks with more canopy stayed cooler on the hottest days

   Chart: Average days, Days above 35 °C across Under 10%, 10–20%, 20–30%, Over 30%.

   • Average days: Under 10% 29.6 · 10–20% 29.1 · 20–30% 28.7 · Over 30% 28.3
   • Days above 35 °C: Under 10% 36.8 · 10–20% 35.9 · 20–30% 35.1 · Over 30% 34.4

   Mean 15:00 air temperature by canopy cover. On hot days the gap reached 2.4 °C, nearly twice the usual.

6. 06At a glance

   The thesis in five points

   • Canopy cover predicts afternoon heat best — Across 48 blocks, tree canopy explained more of the afternoon temperature gap than building height, paving or distance to water.
   • 2.4 °C cooler — On days above 35 °C.
   • Effect peaks at 15:00 — And fades after sunset.
   • Gains are uneven — Low-income blocks lag.
   • Three papers — 2 published, 1 in review.
7. 07Points

   Three contributions to the field

   Each one is set out in a chapter and a matching paper.

   • A block-scale method that pairs street-level loggers with canopy maps and transfers to other cities.
   • A three-summer dataset of street temperatures across 48 blocks, archived openly for other researchers.
   • Evidence that cooling follows income, giving planners a clear basis for where to plant next.
8. 08Two columns

   What the thesis claims, and what it does not

   Claims

   • Canopy cools blocks on hot afternoons
   • The effect grows with canopy cover
   • Lower-income blocks benefit least

   Does not claim

   • That trees cool a whole city
   • Any cooling effect at night
   • Results for dense city centres
9. 09Comparison

   Street loggers and satellite images answer different questions

   Street loggers

   • Air temperature at head height
   • Every hour, all summer
   • 48 blocks in fine detail

   Satellite images

   • Ground surface temperature
   • One pass every 16 days
   • Whole city, coarser detail
10. 10Table

    Paired blocks confirm the canopy effect

    Canopy cover	Blocks	Mean °C	vs control
    Under 10%	12	36.8	−0.1
    10–20%	14	35.9	−0.8
    20–30%	12	35.1	−1.6
    Over 30%	10	34.4	−2.4

11. 11Timeline

    Four years from proposal to defence

    1. 2022Proposal approved; pilot loggers placed on six blocks.
    2. 2023First full summer of data across all 48 blocks.
    3. 2024Second summer; method paper published.
    4. 2025Third summer; equity analysis and final papers.
12. 12Process

    How the data became findings

    1. MapMeasure canopy cover per block from aerial imagery.
    2. MeasureLog air temperature hourly at 312 street sites.
    3. PairMatch each tree-lined block with a similar control.
    4. ModelEstimate cooling with mixed-effects regression.
13. 13Composed

    A four-stage design links field data to planning advice

    1. Site selection: 48 blocks in six districts (Field work)
    2. Logging: 312 sensors, three summers (Field work)
    3. Cleaning: Faulty readings removed (Analysis)
    4. Modelling: Mixed-effects regression (Analysis)
    5. Validation: Checked against satellite data (Analysis)

    Outputs

    • Chapter 3: method paper, published
    • Chapter 4: cooling paper, published
    • Chapter 5: equity paper, in review

    	Chapter	Question	Status
    1	Method	How to measure?	Published
    2	Cooling	How much cooler?	Published
    3	Equity	Who benefits?	In review
    4	Synthesis	Where to plant?	In thesis

    Data and ethics

    • Open data: All readings archived for reuse
    • Permits: Council approval for every site
    • Reproducible: Analysis code shared in full

    Headline result: Up to 2.4 °C cooler on hot days

14. 14Image

    Sensors at head height, on every block

    Each logger sat in a ventilated shield 2 m above the pavement, recording air temperature every hour from June to September.

    • 96% of readings recovered
    • Sited with council permission

    Image: Small white radiation shield with a temperature logger on a tree-lined street

15. 15Team

    The examining committee

    • Prof. Ingrid Solberg, Principal supervisor. Urban climate.
    • Dr Kwame Asante, Co-supervisor. Spatial statistics.
    • Prof. Ana Torres, External examiner. Urban ecology, Halden Univ.
    • Dr Rohan Mehta, Internal examiner. Environmental justice.
16. 16Quote

    The question that started it

    “On the hottest day of 2022, my street was 3 °C cooler than the next one over. I wanted to know why.”

17. 17Closing

    Shade is unevenly shared, and that can change

    Thank you to my committee, my supervisors and the residents of 48 blocks. I welcome your questions.

Questions