Impact of Urban Functional Dynamics on Surface Temperature: A Case Study of Chengdu

Abstract

With global warming and rapid urban development, the urban surface temperature in summer has been increasing, seriously affecting people’s work and life. The formation and changes in surface temperature are directly related to material surroundings and spatial functions. Urban construction has led to an increase in POIs (points of interest), and the POI represents the functional activity within the space to a certain extent. Therefore, this paper attempts to reproduce the process of the urban internal function development of Chengdu according to the distribution characteristics of different types of points of interest. It also delves into the influence of internal spatial functions on surface temperature in Chengdu. The results show that the surface heat values for all types of functions show a significant increase from 2009 to 2022. The rate of increase is particularly pronounced for public transportation, with temperatures increasing by an average of 0.317 °C per year. In addition, there are differences in the thermal contribution values of different functions. The residential and commercial functions have the most significant impact on surface temperature, with both accounting for more than 0.45 of all functional contribution values. Public transportation has a small thermal contribution value but shows a trend of doubling growth. The findings will provide some insights into the design of cooling in future urban planning.