Impact of Green Roofs and Walls on the Thermal Environment of Pedestrian Heights in Urban Villages

(1) Background: Urban villages in Guangzhou are high-density communities with challenging outdoor thermal environments, which significantly impact residents’ thermal comfort. Addressing these issues is crucial for improving the quality of life and mitigating heat stress in such environments. (2) Met...

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Main Authors: Chang Lin, Shawei Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-12-01
Series:Buildings
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/14/12/4063
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author Chang Lin
Shawei Zhang
author_facet Chang Lin
Shawei Zhang
author_sort Chang Lin
collection DOAJ
description (1) Background: Urban villages in Guangzhou are high-density communities with challenging outdoor thermal environments, which significantly impact residents’ thermal comfort. Addressing these issues is crucial for improving the quality of life and mitigating heat stress in such environments. (2) Methods: This study utilized a validated ENVI-met microclimate model to explore the synergistic cooling effects of roof greening and facade greening. Three greening types—total greening, facade greening, and roof greening—were analyzed for their impacts on air temperature, mean radiant temperature, and physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) at a pedestrian height of 1.5 m under varying green coverage scenarios. (3) Results: The findings showed that total greening exhibited the greatest cooling potential, especially under high coverage (≥50%), reducing PET by approximately 2.5 °C, from 53.5 °C to 51.0 °C, during midday, and shifting the heat stress level from “extreme heat stress” to “strong heat stress”. Facade greening reduced PET by about 1.5 °C, while roof greening had a limited effect, reducing PET by 1.0 °C. Furthermore, under coverage exceeding 75%, total greening achieved maximum reductions of 3.0 °C in mean radiant temperature and 1.2 °C in air temperature. (4) Conclusions: This study provides scientific evidence supporting total greening as the most effective strategy for mitigating heat stress and improving thermal comfort in high-density urban villages, offering practical insights for optimizing green infrastructure.
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spelling doaj-art-4bc03c7b5a714763b4d7439188f3a7cf2025-08-20T02:55:40ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092024-12-011412406310.3390/buildings14124063Impact of Green Roofs and Walls on the Thermal Environment of Pedestrian Heights in Urban VillagesChang Lin0Shawei Zhang1Innovation School of Greater Bay Area, Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, Guangzhou 510261, ChinaSchool of Architecture & Applied Arts, Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, Guangzhou 510261, China(1) Background: Urban villages in Guangzhou are high-density communities with challenging outdoor thermal environments, which significantly impact residents’ thermal comfort. Addressing these issues is crucial for improving the quality of life and mitigating heat stress in such environments. (2) Methods: This study utilized a validated ENVI-met microclimate model to explore the synergistic cooling effects of roof greening and facade greening. Three greening types—total greening, facade greening, and roof greening—were analyzed for their impacts on air temperature, mean radiant temperature, and physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) at a pedestrian height of 1.5 m under varying green coverage scenarios. (3) Results: The findings showed that total greening exhibited the greatest cooling potential, especially under high coverage (≥50%), reducing PET by approximately 2.5 °C, from 53.5 °C to 51.0 °C, during midday, and shifting the heat stress level from “extreme heat stress” to “strong heat stress”. Facade greening reduced PET by about 1.5 °C, while roof greening had a limited effect, reducing PET by 1.0 °C. Furthermore, under coverage exceeding 75%, total greening achieved maximum reductions of 3.0 °C in mean radiant temperature and 1.2 °C in air temperature. (4) Conclusions: This study provides scientific evidence supporting total greening as the most effective strategy for mitigating heat stress and improving thermal comfort in high-density urban villages, offering practical insights for optimizing green infrastructure.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/14/12/4063roof greeningfacade greeningurban villagesoutdoor thermal environmentthermal comfortENVI-met
spellingShingle Chang Lin
Shawei Zhang
Impact of Green Roofs and Walls on the Thermal Environment of Pedestrian Heights in Urban Villages
Buildings
roof greening
facade greening
urban villages
outdoor thermal environment
thermal comfort
ENVI-met
title Impact of Green Roofs and Walls on the Thermal Environment of Pedestrian Heights in Urban Villages
title_full Impact of Green Roofs and Walls on the Thermal Environment of Pedestrian Heights in Urban Villages
title_fullStr Impact of Green Roofs and Walls on the Thermal Environment of Pedestrian Heights in Urban Villages
title_full_unstemmed Impact of Green Roofs and Walls on the Thermal Environment of Pedestrian Heights in Urban Villages
title_short Impact of Green Roofs and Walls on the Thermal Environment of Pedestrian Heights in Urban Villages
title_sort impact of green roofs and walls on the thermal environment of pedestrian heights in urban villages
topic roof greening
facade greening
urban villages
outdoor thermal environment
thermal comfort
ENVI-met
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/14/12/4063
work_keys_str_mv AT changlin impactofgreenroofsandwallsonthethermalenvironmentofpedestrianheightsinurbanvillages
AT shaweizhang impactofgreenroofsandwallsonthethermalenvironmentofpedestrianheightsinurbanvillages