Linking Urban Sprawl and Surface Urban Heat Island in the Teresina–Timon Conurbation Area in Brazil

Abstract

Negative consequences of urban growing disparities usually lead to impressive levels of segregation, marginalization, and injustices, particularly in the context of climate change. Understanding the relations between urban expansion and social vulnerability has become extremely necessary for municipality management and sustainable urban development. Although the study of urbanization in Latin America (LA) has been well discussed, little attention has been given to how the population is affected by urban expansion-oriented movement after the 2008 economic crisis. Massive investments in infrastructure displaced the population to peripheral zones without adequate urban planning, which reflected in alteration in land use and land cover (LULC), followed by environmental impacts and public health issues caused by thermal discomfort, notably in semiarid regions. This paper aims to evaluate the effects of urban sprawl on the Teresina–Timon conurbation (TTC) area’s local population, located in Brazil’s northeast. Descriptive metrics (Moran’s I statistic and social vulnerability index) and orbital products derived from remote sensing—LULC and Land surface temperature (LST) maps—were applied. The results indicated that the housing program ‘My House My Life’ (PMCMV) had increased the values of land consumption per capita since 2009 significantly, showing a clear expanding trend. The gradual replacement of green areas by residential settlements resulted in an increased LST. The PMCMV program contributed substantially to a change in land use and land cover, which increased the extent of urbanized areas and changed the local microclimate.

Tourism Effect on the Spatiotemporal Pattern of Land Surface Temperature (LST): Babolsar and Fereydonkenar Cities (Cases Study in Iran)

“…In the case investigated in this study (Babolsar and Fereydonkenar), tourism had a significant moderating effect on the LST in the tourism zones through developing green spaces that were constantly irrigated, and constructing on bare lands that were generally covered with sand. Although this study focused on the effects of the physical development of tourism instead of urban development, its results on the correlation between the land cover indices such as NDVI, MNDWI and EBBI with the LST are consistent with previous research [92][93][94][95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102][103][104][105][106][107][108][109][110].…”

Characterizing Sprawl Development in Urban China: A Perspective from Urban Amenity

“…Sprawl development, characterized by low-density, single-use, scattered, and leapfrog development, has emerged as a prominent topic in urban-planning discourse [1]. Scholars have identified a series of concerns about urban sprawl, including urban heat islands, air pollution, residential segregation, and inequality of accessibility [2][3][4]. As China experiences unprecedented urbanization, Chinese cities have shown a trend of sprawl development despite efforts to curb it [5].…”

Spatio-temporal Analysis of Environmental Criticality: Planned Versus Unplanned Urbanization

“…The study of the UHI phenomenon involves an analysis of Land Surface Temperature (LST) focusing on the role of anthropogenic activities in the radiation budget. The spatial pattern of LST is largely controlled by urban sprawls as studied by many researchers [15,16] The type and magnitude of urban sprawling manifest the rate of urban growth, as well as, the nature of urban planning adopted in a city. Hence, the pattern of LST varies for planned and unplanned cities [17].…”