Research on Thermal Environment Influencing Mechanism and Cooling Model Based on Local Climate Zones: A Case Study of the Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan Urban Agglomeration

Urbanization has profoundly transformed land surface morphology and amplified thermal environmental modifications, culminating in intensified urban heat island (UHI) phenomena. Local climate zones (LCZs) provide a robust methodological framework for quantifying thermal heterogeneity and dynamics at...

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Main Authors: Mengyu Ge, Zhongzhao Xiong, Yuanjin Li, Li Li, Fei Xie, Yuanfu Gong, Yufeng Sun
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Remote Sensing
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/14/2391
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author Mengyu Ge
Zhongzhao Xiong
Yuanjin Li
Li Li
Fei Xie
Yuanfu Gong
Yufeng Sun
author_facet Mengyu Ge
Zhongzhao Xiong
Yuanjin Li
Li Li
Fei Xie
Yuanfu Gong
Yufeng Sun
author_sort Mengyu Ge
collection DOAJ
description Urbanization has profoundly transformed land surface morphology and amplified thermal environmental modifications, culminating in intensified urban heat island (UHI) phenomena. Local climate zones (LCZs) provide a robust methodological framework for quantifying thermal heterogeneity and dynamics at local scales. Our study investigated the Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan urban agglomeration (CZXA) as a case study and systematically examined spatiotemporal patterns of LCZs and land surface temperature (LST) from 2002 to 2019, while elucidating mechanisms influencing urban thermal environments and proposing optimized cooling strategies. Key findings demonstrated that through multi-source remote sensing data integration, long-term LCZ classification was achieved with 1,592 training samples, maintaining an overall accuracy exceeding 70%. Landscape pattern analysis revealed that increased fragmentation, configurational complexity, and diversity indices coupled with diminished spatial connectivity significantly elevate LST. Rapid development of the city in the vertical direction also led to an increase in LST. Among seven urban morphological parameters, impervious surface fraction (ISF) and pervious surface fraction (PSF) demonstrated the strongest correlations with LST, showing Pearson coefficients of 0.82 and −0.82, respectively. Pearson coefficients of mean building height (BH), building surface fraction (BSF), and mean street width (SW) also reached 0.50, 0.55, and 0.66. Redundancy analysis (RDA) results revealed that the connectivity and fragmentation degree of LCZ_8 (COHESION8) was the most critical parameter affecting urban thermal environment, explaining 58.5% of LST. Based on these findings and materiality assessment, the regional cooling model of “cooling resistance surface–cooling source–cooling corridor–cooling node” of CZXA was constructed. In the future, particular attention should be paid to the shape and distribution of buildings, especially large, openly arranged buildings with one to three stories, as well as to controlling building height and density. Moreover, tailored protection strategies should be formulated and implemented for cooling sources, corridors, and nodes based on their hierarchical significance within urban thermal regulation systems. These research outcomes offer a robust scientific foundation for evidence-based decision-making in mitigating UHI effects and promoting sustainable urban ecosystem development across urban agglomerations.
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spelling doaj-art-27702f50fcb04928ae762fb6eb6b5bcc2025-08-20T03:32:15ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922025-07-011714239110.3390/rs17142391Research on Thermal Environment Influencing Mechanism and Cooling Model Based on Local Climate Zones: A Case Study of the Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan Urban AgglomerationMengyu Ge0Zhongzhao Xiong1Yuanjin Li2Li Li3Fei Xie4Yuanfu Gong5Yufeng Sun6HuBei Institute of Land Surveying and Mapping, No. 199 Macau Road, Wuhan 430034, ChinaHuBei Institute of Land Surveying and Mapping, No. 199 Macau Road, Wuhan 430034, ChinaSouth China Sea Sea Area and Island Center, Ministry of Natural Resources, Guangzhou 510310, ChinaSchool of Remote Sensing Information Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, ChinaHuBei Institute of Land Surveying and Mapping, No. 199 Macau Road, Wuhan 430034, ChinaHuBei Institute of Land Surveying and Mapping, No. 199 Macau Road, Wuhan 430034, ChinaHuBei Institute of Land Surveying and Mapping, No. 199 Macau Road, Wuhan 430034, ChinaUrbanization has profoundly transformed land surface morphology and amplified thermal environmental modifications, culminating in intensified urban heat island (UHI) phenomena. Local climate zones (LCZs) provide a robust methodological framework for quantifying thermal heterogeneity and dynamics at local scales. Our study investigated the Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan urban agglomeration (CZXA) as a case study and systematically examined spatiotemporal patterns of LCZs and land surface temperature (LST) from 2002 to 2019, while elucidating mechanisms influencing urban thermal environments and proposing optimized cooling strategies. Key findings demonstrated that through multi-source remote sensing data integration, long-term LCZ classification was achieved with 1,592 training samples, maintaining an overall accuracy exceeding 70%. Landscape pattern analysis revealed that increased fragmentation, configurational complexity, and diversity indices coupled with diminished spatial connectivity significantly elevate LST. Rapid development of the city in the vertical direction also led to an increase in LST. Among seven urban morphological parameters, impervious surface fraction (ISF) and pervious surface fraction (PSF) demonstrated the strongest correlations with LST, showing Pearson coefficients of 0.82 and −0.82, respectively. Pearson coefficients of mean building height (BH), building surface fraction (BSF), and mean street width (SW) also reached 0.50, 0.55, and 0.66. Redundancy analysis (RDA) results revealed that the connectivity and fragmentation degree of LCZ_8 (COHESION8) was the most critical parameter affecting urban thermal environment, explaining 58.5% of LST. Based on these findings and materiality assessment, the regional cooling model of “cooling resistance surface–cooling source–cooling corridor–cooling node” of CZXA was constructed. In the future, particular attention should be paid to the shape and distribution of buildings, especially large, openly arranged buildings with one to three stories, as well as to controlling building height and density. Moreover, tailored protection strategies should be formulated and implemented for cooling sources, corridors, and nodes based on their hierarchical significance within urban thermal regulation systems. These research outcomes offer a robust scientific foundation for evidence-based decision-making in mitigating UHI effects and promoting sustainable urban ecosystem development across urban agglomerations.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/14/2391local climate zonesurban heat islandlandscape patterninfluence mechanismcooling modelChangsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan city group
spellingShingle Mengyu Ge
Zhongzhao Xiong
Yuanjin Li
Li Li
Fei Xie
Yuanfu Gong
Yufeng Sun
Research on Thermal Environment Influencing Mechanism and Cooling Model Based on Local Climate Zones: A Case Study of the Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan Urban Agglomeration
Remote Sensing
local climate zones
urban heat island
landscape pattern
influence mechanism
cooling model
Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan city group
title Research on Thermal Environment Influencing Mechanism and Cooling Model Based on Local Climate Zones: A Case Study of the Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan Urban Agglomeration
title_full Research on Thermal Environment Influencing Mechanism and Cooling Model Based on Local Climate Zones: A Case Study of the Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan Urban Agglomeration
title_fullStr Research on Thermal Environment Influencing Mechanism and Cooling Model Based on Local Climate Zones: A Case Study of the Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan Urban Agglomeration
title_full_unstemmed Research on Thermal Environment Influencing Mechanism and Cooling Model Based on Local Climate Zones: A Case Study of the Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan Urban Agglomeration
title_short Research on Thermal Environment Influencing Mechanism and Cooling Model Based on Local Climate Zones: A Case Study of the Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan Urban Agglomeration
title_sort research on thermal environment influencing mechanism and cooling model based on local climate zones a case study of the changsha zhuzhou xiangtan urban agglomeration
topic local climate zones
urban heat island
landscape pattern
influence mechanism
cooling model
Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan city group
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/14/2391
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