Exploring surface urban heat island (SUHI) intensity and its implications based on urban 3D neighborhood metrics: An investigation of 57 Chinese cities

Yi Zhou; Haile Zhao; Sicheng Mao; Guoliang Zhang; Yulin Jin; Yuchao Luo; Wei Huo; Zhihua Pan; Pingli An; Fei Lun

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157662

Exploring surface urban heat island (SUHI) intensity and its implications based on urban 3D neighborhood metrics: An investigation of 57 Chinese cities

Sci Total Environ. 2022 Nov 15:847:157662. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157662. Epub 2022 Jul 27.

Authors

Yi Zhou¹, Haile Zhao², Sicheng Mao³, Guoliang Zhang⁴, Yulin Jin², Yuchao Luo⁵, Wei Huo², Zhihua Pan⁶, Pingli An⁷, Fei Lun⁸

Affiliations

¹ College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; Key Laboratory of Land Quality, Ministry of Land and Resources, Beijing 100193, China. Electronic address: B20193030288@cau.edu.cn.
² College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; Key Laboratory of Land Quality, Ministry of Land and Resources, Beijing 100193, China.
³ College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; Key Laboratory of Land Quality, Ministry of Land and Resources, Beijing 100193, China. Electronic address: SY20203213086@cau.edu.cn.
⁴ College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; Key Laboratory of Land Quality, Ministry of Land and Resources, Beijing 100193, China. Electronic address: glzhang@cau.edu.cn.
⁵ College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; Key Laboratory of Land Quality, Ministry of Land and Resources, Beijing 100193, China. Electronic address: row@cau.edu.cn.
⁶ College of Resources and Environmental Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China. Electronic address: panzhihua@cau.edu.cn.
⁷ College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; Key Laboratory of Land Quality, Ministry of Land and Resources, Beijing 100193, China. Electronic address: anpl@cau.edu.cn.
⁸ College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; Key Laboratory of Land Quality, Ministry of Land and Resources, Beijing 100193, China. Electronic address: lunfei@cau.edu.cn.

PMID: 35907552
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157662

Abstract

Excessive urban temperature exerts a substantially negative impact on urban sustainability. Three-dimensional (3D) landscapes have a great impact on urban thermal environments, while their heat conditions and driving factors still remain unclear. This study mapped urban 3D neighborhoods and their associated SUHI (surface urban heat island) intensities in summer daytime across 57 Chinese cities, and then explored their relationships, driving factors as well as implications. Nine categories of urban 3D neighborhoods existed in Chinese cities and the 3D neighborhood of High Density & Medium Rise (HDMR) contributed the largest share of urban areas. The distribution of 3D neighborhoods varied among cities due to their distinct natural and economic traits. The average SUHI intensity can amount to 4.27 °C across all Chinese 3D neighborhoods. High Density & Low Rise (HDLR) and HDMR presented higher SUHI intensities than other 3D neighborhoods in China. Urban green space (UGI) and building height (BH) had great influences on SUHI intensities. The relative contribution of UGI decreased with the increase of building density and building height, but BH presented the opposite trend. The interaction of urban 3D landscapes and function zones led to highly complicated urban thermal environments, with higher SUHI intensities in industrial zones. Besides, the SUHI intensities of 3D neighborhoods presented great diurnal and seasonal variations, with higher SUHI intensities in HDHR and HDMR at nighttime in winter and summer. What's more, urban residents may suffer unequal heat risk inside cities due to the deviations of SUHI intensities among different 3D neighborhoods. It could be a highly effective way to mitigate SUHI effects in cities by increasing urban greening and improving urban ventilation.

Keywords: Chinese cities; Gradient-boosted regression trees; Surface urban heat island intensity; Urban 3D neighborhood; Urban form indicator.

MeSH terms

Benchmarking*
China
Cities
Environmental Monitoring / methods
Hot Temperature*
Sustainable Growth