Quantification of the Thermal Environmental Value of Urban Pores: A Case Study of Nanjing

Abstract

The term "Urban pores" refers to the space formed by the enclosure of buildings, which have great value for regulating the microclimate. Many previous studies have focused only on a single urban pore section, ignoring the spatial distribution at the urban scale. In this study, the openness of urban pores in Nanjing was quantified and grouped, and then the spatial distribution characteristics of each openness group were further calculated. Based on this, the study combined the spatial distribution characteristics of urban pores with urban thermal environment data and an LCZ urban form classification model to analyse the impact of urban pores on the urban thermal environment. The results show that 1) the impact of urban pores is greater in summer and autumn, where its spatial agglomeration has a higher cooling value for the urban thermal environment, while this is not significant in winter; 2) the spatial agglomeration of urban pores in the high openness group, mid-high openness group and mid-low openness group have a higher cooling effect, which mainly corresponds to water, open spaces or parks and urban roads. These spaces should be given more attention when developing urban design strategies. The results can provide some references for urban development.