Spatial relationship between land development pattern and intra-urban thermal variations in Taipei

Shih, W.-Y., Ahmad, S. , Chen, Y.-C., Lin, T.-P. and Mabon, L. (2020) Spatial relationship between land development pattern and intra-urban thermal variations in Taipei. Sustainable Cities and Society, 62, 102415. (doi: 10.1016/j.scs.2020.102415)

Abstract

This paper assesses the influence of land development patterns on intra-urban thermal variation in a densely-developed subtropical city, considering joint effect from greenspace pattern and built-up geometry. Despite growing research on urban climates, research at a scale that can support urban planning with scientificallyinformed strategies is still not as well documented for warm climate cities as for temperate cities. In response, this paper uses land surface temperature and geoinformation to assess the subtropical city of Taipei, Taiwan. Results show cooler environments are not only associated with natural surfaces, but also their interrelation with different spatial arrangement of buildings. An open layout tends to have lower temperature at low- to mid-rise buildings, whereas a compact layout is the coolest form for high-rise buildings. Cooling benefit from open layouts is, however, related to an increase in greenery. Clustering distribution of greenspaces produces more notable cooling. Accordingly, this paper proposes four heat mitigation strategies for Taipei: 1) increasing the amount of water bodies and vegetation, with greater coverage and coherence; 2) taking building height and shadow into account during regeneration/development; 3) increasing spacing and greenery between low- to midrise buildings; and 4) avoiding construction of compact low-rise buildings with corrugated iron steel.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This work was supported by a Wellcome Trust Seed Award in Humanities and Social Sciences [205764-Z-16-Z]. The second author acknowledges funding received via UK Research and Innovation as part of the UK Government’s Global Challenges Research Fund.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Ahmad, Dr Sohail
• Authors: Shih, W.-Y., Ahmad, S., Chen, Y.-C., Lin, T.-P., and Mabon, L.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Urban Studies
• Journal Name: Sustainable Cities and Society
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 2210-6707
• ISSN (Online): 2210-6715
• Published Online: 22 July 2020
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Journal of Law and Society and Cardiff University Law School
• First Published: First published in Sustainable Cities and Society 62: 102415
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License