Urban tree planting to maintain outdoor thermal comfort under climate change: The case of Vancouver's local climate zones

Aminipouri, Mehdi; Rayner, David; Lindberg, Fredrik; Thorsson, Sofia; Knudby, Anders; Zickfeld, Kirsten; Middel, Ariane; Krayenhoff, E. Scott

doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2019.05.022

Cited by 57 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 60 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Chen concluded that both the spatial configuration of tree canopies and the vertical structure of tree canopies are important predictors for reducing land surface temperature (LST) during daytime and nighttime [13]. Also, specific urban structures and morphologies produce distinct microclimates [14][15][16][17][18], which means that in order to achieve effective urban heat island mitigation, it is necessary to understand and apply urban climatic information in urban planning. However, investigating the impacts of urban physical characteristics on microclimate is a difficult task because of the complexity and variety of land cover, surface structures, construction materials and human activities [19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such a definition makes the LCZ methodology a universally comparable approach for urban microclimatology studies, and facilitates knowledge transfer between urban climatologists, planners and practitioners [19]. Among the LCZ-based UHI studies, urban thermal statistics are generated by stationary measurements (e.g., from meteorological stations and the HOBO-Logger) [21,22], mobile measurements (e.g., automobile traverses) [23,24], numerical simulation data (e.g., temperatures from ENVI-met software and the SOLWEIG model) [17,25] and LSTs from remote sensed satellite data [26][27][28].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Mapping Local Climate Zones Using ArcGIS-Based Method and Exploring Land Surface Temperature Characteristics in Chenzhou, China

Ya-ping

Zheng

2020

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The local climate zone (LCZ) has become a new tool for urban heat island research. Taking Chenzhou as the research object, eight urban spatial form elements and land cover elements are calculated respectively through ArcGIS, Skyhelios and ENVI software. The calculation results are then rasterized and clustered in ArcGIS to obtain the LCZ map at a resolution of 200 m. Afterwards, the land surface temperature (LST) of different local climate zones in the four seasons from 2017 to 2018 is further analyzed using one-way ANOVA F-test and Student’s t-test. The results suggest that: (1) by adding localized LCZ classes and applying the semi-automatic algorithm on the Arc-GIS platform, the final overall accuracy reaches 69.54%, with a kappa value of 0.67, (2) the compact middle-rise buildings (LCZ-2′) and open low-rise buildings (LCZ-6) heavily contribute to the high LST of the downtown area, while the large low-rise buildings (LCZ-8) cause the high LST regions in the eastern part of the town, (3) obvious land surface temperature differences can be detected in four seasons among different LCZ classes, with high LST in summer and autumn. Built-up LCZ classes generally revealed higher LSTs than land cover LCZs in all seasons. The findings of this study provide better understandings of the relationship between LCZ and LST, as well as important insights for urban planners on urban heat mitigation.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping Local Climate Zones Using ArcGIS-Based Method and Exploring Land Surface Temperature Characteristics in Chenzhou, China

Ya-ping

Zheng

2020

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A recent study compared the current radiant heat load in Vancouver, Canada, with two climate change scenarios until 2100, and found the adaptive effects of tree cover [26]. The results provide powerful evidence for making adaptation measures related to tree cover, because they quantify the extreme heat magnitude, frequency and duration resulting from tree cover.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For these reasons, the degree to which adaptation strategies can reduce extreme heat represents important data for decision makers. However, except for a few studies [10,26], previous studies had not considered such thresholds, and instead tend to present the degree of heat load reduction.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Extreme Heat Adaptation Strategies under Different Climate Change Mitigation Scenarios in Seoul, Korea

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The impacts of extreme heat in Seoul, Korea, are expected to increase in frequency and magnitude in response to global warming, necessitating certain adaptation strategies. However, there is a lack of knowledge of adaptation strategies that would be able to reduce the impacts of extreme heat to cope with an uncertain future, especially on the local scale. In this study, we aimed to determine the effect of adaptation strategies to reduce the mortality risk under two climate change mitigation scenarios, using Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 2.6 and 8.5. We selected four street-level adaptation strategies: Green walls, sidewalk greenways, reduced-albedo sidewalks and street trees. As an extreme heat assessment criterion, we used a pedestrian mean radiant temperature threshold, which was strongly related to heat mortality. The results, projected to the 2050s, showed that green walls, greenways and reduced-albedo sidewalks could adequately reduce the extreme heat impacts under RCP2.6; however, only street trees could reduce the extreme heat impacts under RCP8.5 in the 2050s. This implies that required adaptation strategies can vary depending on the targeted scenario. This study was conducted using one street in Seoul, but the methodology can be expanded to include other adaptation strategies, and applied to various locations to help stakeholders decide on effective adaptation options and make local climate change adaptation plans.

show abstract

“…For example, through the ENVI-met software simulation, Ariane Middel designed five compact and open LCZs to evaluate the air temperature near the ground, with the conclusion that the high-density LCZ class has a cooling effect at 15:00 [61]. Six different local climate zones (LCZs) in Vancouver, Canada, have been studied to find a heat mitigation strategy to reduce or maintain current Tmrt under projected climate scenarios for selected LCZs using the solar and longwave environmental irradiance geometry (SOLWEIG) model, the results of which show that increasing street tree coverage can increase the cooling effect of radiation [62]. However, the Ta simulation results of inter-LCZs are still not adequate to cover all the LCZ classes and cities under different climate conditions.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical Simulation of Local Climate Zone Cooling Achieved through Modification of Trees, Albedo and Green Roofs—A Case Study of Changsha, China

Chen

Zheng

2020

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

By exploring the cooling potential of tree quantity, ground albedo, green roofs and their combinations in local climate zone (LCZ)-4, LCZ-5, and LCZ-6, this study focuses on the optimum cooling level that can be achieved in open residential regions in Changsha. It designs and models 39 scenarios by integrating in situ measurement and ENVI-met numerical simulation and further compares cooling effects of various combinations of the cooling factors. The results show that (1) an increased number of trees and higher albedo are more effective compared to green roofs in reducing summer potential temperatures at street level (2 m high) in three LCZs. Negative correlations are observed in the pedestrian air temperature with trees and ground albedo; (2) the effects of cooling factors vary among different LCZ classes, with the increased 60% more trees leading to lower outdoor temperatures for LCZ-4 (0.28 °C), LCZ-5 (0.39 °C), and LCZ-6 (0.54 °C), while higher albedo of asphalt surface (increased by 0.4) is more effective in LCZ-4 (reaches to 0.68 °C) 14:00, compare to LCZ-5 (0.49 °C) and LCZ-6 (0.38 °C); (3) applying combined cooling methods can provoke air temperature reduction (up to 0.96 °C), especially when higher levels of tree quantities (increased by 60%) are coupled with cool ground materials (albedo increased by 0.4). The results can contribute useful information for improving thermal environment in existing residential regions and future residential planning.

show abstract

Urban tree planting to maintain outdoor thermal comfort under climate change: The case of Vancouver's local climate zones

Cited by 57 publications

References 60 publications

Mapping Local Climate Zones Using ArcGIS-Based Method and Exploring Land Surface Temperature Characteristics in Chenzhou, China

Mapping Local Climate Zones Using ArcGIS-Based Method and Exploring Land Surface Temperature Characteristics in Chenzhou, China

The Effects of Extreme Heat Adaptation Strategies under Different Climate Change Mitigation Scenarios in Seoul, Korea

Numerical Simulation of Local Climate Zone Cooling Achieved through Modification of Trees, Albedo and Green Roofs—A Case Study of Changsha, China

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About