High-density urban development areas have several problems associated with them, such as the formation of urban heat islands, traffic noise, and air pollution. To minimize these problems, the green façades (GFs), which are used to guide climbing plants to grow vertically on building facade, are focused on by researchers and architects. This study focuses on GF application strategies and their optimizations for thermal comfort in a transitional space in a hot-humid climate. First, field measurements were collected from GF projects located in Guangzhou, China, in summer 2017. Second, a simulation method using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used to investigate the thermal effects of the GF’s foliage. Finally, seven GF typologies and one unshaded comparison model were used for simulations in three scenarios with south, east, and west orientations and compared to evaluate the effects of GFs on the thermal environment of the transitional space. The results of field measurements reveal that the GF reduced average Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET) by 2.54 °C, and that of CFD simulations reveal that three typologies of GFs are more effective in regulating the thermal environment in the summer. The results of this research provide support for further studies on the thermal effectiveness and design options of GFs for human comfort.

Typhoon, as one of the extreme climatic disasters, attacks the southeast coastal cities in China every year. To countermeasure the risk of a typhoon on urban tree safety, we established a cooperation research team including professions on urban design and city planning, wind engineering, and tree health assessment and management. This paper presents some statistical studies on the data of the damaged urban trees causing by the typhoons in Guangzhou and some other cities in Pearl River Delta (PRD), China in 2016 - 2018. The data of the damaged trees is imported in a geographic information system (GIS) database and a local climate zone (LCZ) map to analyze the distribution of damaged trees in different urban morphologies and underlying surface patterns. Results show a series of high-risk tree species such as Ficus microcarpa, Ficus virens var.sublanceolata, and Bauhinia variegate in typhoons. Then, six LCZ typologies and four main typologies of urban space are figured out basing on the statistical analysis of the damaged trees. Preliminary results reveal that some kinds of tree species and urban space are at a higher risk level during the typhoons. Current works will support the research on urban tree management, risk management and forecasting, urban planning, and landscape design.

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Despite growing research on green space and health benefits, the body of evidence remains heterogeneous and unclear. A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with high evidence levels are deemed timely. We searched Scopus, PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science for the literature up to January 2022 and assessed bias using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool 2.0. We calculated joint impact estimates for each green space exposure assessment technique using random and fixed effects models. Compared to non-green space situations, green space exposure was related to decreased negative feelings, such as fatigue −0.84 (95% CI: −1.15 to −0.54), and increased levels of pleasant emotions, such as vitality 0.85 (95% CI: 0.52 to 1.18). It also lowered physiological indicators, including heart rate levels, by 0.60 (95% CI: −0.90 to −0.31). Effect sizes were large and statistically significant, and the overall quality of the evidence was good. Existing RCTs on greenspace exposure pay insufficient attention to older and adolescent populations, different ethnic groups, different regions, and doses of greenspace exposure interventions. More research is needed to understand how and how much green space investment has the most restorative benefits and guide urban green space planning and renewal.

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