Effects of Landscape Design on Urban Microclimate and Thermal Comfort in Tropical Climate

A climate-responsive landscape design can create a more livable urban microclimate with adequate human comfortability. This paper aims to quantitatively investigate the effects of landscape design elements of pavement materials, greenery, and water bodies on urban microclimate and thermal comfort in...

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Main Authors: Wei Yang, Yaolin Lin, Chun-Qing Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2018-01-01
Series:Advances in Meteorology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/2809649
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author Wei Yang
Yaolin Lin
Chun-Qing Li
author_facet Wei Yang
Yaolin Lin
Chun-Qing Li
author_sort Wei Yang
collection DOAJ
description A climate-responsive landscape design can create a more livable urban microclimate with adequate human comfortability. This paper aims to quantitatively investigate the effects of landscape design elements of pavement materials, greenery, and water bodies on urban microclimate and thermal comfort in a high-rise residential area in the tropic climate of Singapore. A comprehensive field measurement is undertaken to obtain real data on microclimate parameters for calibration of the microclimate-modeling software ENVI-met 4.0. With the calibrated ENVI-met, seven urban landscape scenarios are simulated and their effects on thermal comfort as measured by physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) are evaluated. It is found that the maximum improvement of PET reduction with suggested landscape designs is about 12°C, and high-albedo pavement materials and water bodies are not effective in reducing heat stress in hot and humid climate conditions. The combination of shade trees over grass is the most effective landscape strategy for cooling the microclimate. The findings from the paper can equip urban designers with knowledge and techniques to mitigate urban heat stress.
format Article
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institution Kabale University
issn 1687-9309
1687-9317
language English
publishDate 2018-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Advances in Meteorology
spelling doaj-art-913aa21c5ecb4e7bafd0b9fbda059af12025-08-20T03:37:05ZengWileyAdvances in Meteorology1687-93091687-93172018-01-01201810.1155/2018/28096492809649Effects of Landscape Design on Urban Microclimate and Thermal Comfort in Tropical ClimateWei Yang0Yaolin Lin1Chun-Qing Li2School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, ChinaSchool of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, ChinaSchool of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, AustraliaA climate-responsive landscape design can create a more livable urban microclimate with adequate human comfortability. This paper aims to quantitatively investigate the effects of landscape design elements of pavement materials, greenery, and water bodies on urban microclimate and thermal comfort in a high-rise residential area in the tropic climate of Singapore. A comprehensive field measurement is undertaken to obtain real data on microclimate parameters for calibration of the microclimate-modeling software ENVI-met 4.0. With the calibrated ENVI-met, seven urban landscape scenarios are simulated and their effects on thermal comfort as measured by physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) are evaluated. It is found that the maximum improvement of PET reduction with suggested landscape designs is about 12°C, and high-albedo pavement materials and water bodies are not effective in reducing heat stress in hot and humid climate conditions. The combination of shade trees over grass is the most effective landscape strategy for cooling the microclimate. The findings from the paper can equip urban designers with knowledge and techniques to mitigate urban heat stress.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/2809649
spellingShingle Wei Yang
Yaolin Lin
Chun-Qing Li
Effects of Landscape Design on Urban Microclimate and Thermal Comfort in Tropical Climate
Advances in Meteorology
title Effects of Landscape Design on Urban Microclimate and Thermal Comfort in Tropical Climate
title_full Effects of Landscape Design on Urban Microclimate and Thermal Comfort in Tropical Climate
title_fullStr Effects of Landscape Design on Urban Microclimate and Thermal Comfort in Tropical Climate
title_full_unstemmed Effects of Landscape Design on Urban Microclimate and Thermal Comfort in Tropical Climate
title_short Effects of Landscape Design on Urban Microclimate and Thermal Comfort in Tropical Climate
title_sort effects of landscape design on urban microclimate and thermal comfort in tropical climate
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/2809649
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AT yaolinlin effectsoflandscapedesignonurbanmicroclimateandthermalcomfortintropicalclimate
AT chunqingli effectsoflandscapedesignonurbanmicroclimateandthermalcomfortintropicalclimate