Investigating the influence of urban green spaces on urban heat island mitigation – taking four districts in Shijiazhuang as an example
Abstract
The primary objective of this scholarly investigation is to elucidate the intricate interplay between the urban heat island (UHI) effect and municipal green spaces. The geographical focus includes the four areas with the highest urbanization rate in Shijiazhuang, China. To conduct this survey, ECOSTRESS remote sensing imagery was acquired during distinct temporal intervals–morning, midday, and evening. The data were collected using the equal-scale city blocks performed by the OpenStreetMap urban network and ECOSTRESS remote sensing images at different times (morning, noon and evening). Surface temperature inversion of satellite images was performed using ArcGIS 10.7 software to obtain surface temperature. The overarching aim was to discern the nuanced impact of urban parks on the surface temperatures of their proximate environs during the summer season. The findings of this investigation revealed that, in order to effectively ameliorate the discernible heat island effect (SUH), rejuvenation initiatives ought to be directed toward sites maintaining a distance from green spaces within the range of 160 to 370 meters. Furthermore, augmentation of green space configurations is recommended in vicinities characterized by building densities falling within the range of 0.2 to 0.3. Notably, in locales marked by high building density, park layouts should adhere to a more regularized design during the renovation process. Additionally, it is advisable to ensure that the spatial separation between distinct urban parks exceeds 900 meters. These empirical insights are poised to enhance the comprehension of urban planners regarding the intricate dynamics through which urban parks exert influence on municipal surface temperatures. Furthermore, the discerned patterns furnish pragmatic guidance for mitigating the heat island effect, thereby offering invaluable recommendations for urban planning endeavors.
Keyword : urban parks, surface temperature, heat island effect, cooling distance
How to Cite
Zhang, N., Ding, Q., & Wang, H. (2025). Investigating the influence of urban green spaces on urban heat island mitigation – taking four districts in Shijiazhuang as an example. Journal of Environmental Engineering and Landscape Management, 33(1), 42–54. https://doi.org/10.3846/jeelm.2025.22956
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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Cao, X., Onishi, A., Chen, J., & Imura, H. (2010). Quantifying the cool island intensity of urban parks using ASTER and IKONOS data. Landscape and Urban Planning, 96(4), 224–231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2010.03.008
Cheng, X., Wei, B., Chen, G., Li, J., & Song, C. (2015). Influence of park size and its surrounding urban landscape patterns on the park cooling effect. Journal of Urban Planning and Development, 141(3). https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)UP.1943-5444.0000256
Du, H., Song, X., Jiang, H., Kan, Z., Wang, Z., & Cai, Y. (2016). Research on the cooling island effects of water body: A case study of Shanghai, China. Ecological Indicators, 67, 31–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.02.040
Du, H., Zhan, W., Liu, Z., Li, J., Li, L., Lai, J., Miao, S., Huang, F., Wang, C., Wang, C., Fu, H., Jiang, L., Hong, F., & Jiang, S. (2021). Simultaneous investigation of surface and canopy urban heat islands over global cities. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 181, 67–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2021.09.003
Errea, C. L., Almeida, C. R. d., Gonçalves, A., & Teodoro, A. C. (2023). Remote sensing analysis of the surface urban heat island effect in Vitoria-Gasteiz, 1985 to 2021. Remote Sensing, 15(12), Article 3110. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15123110
Founda, D. (2011). Evolution of the air temperature in Athens and evidence of climatic change: A review. Advances in Building Energy Research, 5(1), 7–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512549.2011.582338
Gobakis, K., Kolokotsa, D., Synnefa, A., & Saliari, M. (2011). Development of a model for urban heat island prediction using neural network techniques. Sustainable Cities and Society, 1(2), 104–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2011.05.001
Guo, G., Wu, Z., & Chen, Y. (2019). Complex mechanisms linking land surface temperature to greenspace spatial patterns: Evidence from four southeastern Chinese cities. Science of the Total Environment, 674, 77–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.03.402
Guo, J., Niu, H., Xiao, D., Sun, X., & Fan, L. (2021). Urban green-space water-consumption characteristics and its driving factors in China. Ecological Indicators, 130, Article 108076. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.108076
Hamada, S., Tanaka, T., & Ohta, T. (2013). Impacts of land use and topography on the cooling effect of green areas on surrounding urban areas. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 12(4), 426–434. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2013.06.008
Huang, M., Cui, P., & He, X. (2018). Study of the cooling effects of urban green space in Harbin in terms of reducing the heat island effect. Sustainability, 10(4), Article 1101. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10041101
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2022). Climate change 2022: Impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Contribution of working group II to the sixth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009325844
Ke, X., Men, H., Zhou, T., Li, Z., & Zhu, F. (2021). Complex mechanisms linking land surface temperature to greenspace spatial patterns: Evidence from four southeastern Chinese cities. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 62, Article 127159.
Li, Q., Zhang, H., Liu, X., & Huang, J. (2004). Urban heat island effect on annual mean temperature during the last 50 years in China. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 79, 165–174. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-004-0065-4
Liao, W., Wang, D., Liu, X., Wang, G., & Zhang, J. (2017). Estimated influence of urbanization on surface warming in Eastern China using time-varying land use data. International Journal of Climatology, 37(7), 3197–3208. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.4908
Lin, W., Yu, T., Chang, X., Wu, W., & Zhang, Y. (2015). Calculating cooling extents of green parks using remote sensing: Method and test. Landscape and Urban Planning, 134, 66–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2014.10.012
Livada, I., Santamouris, M., Niachou, K., Papanikolaou, N., & Mihalakakou, G. (2002). Determination of places in the great Athens area where the heat island effect is observed. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 71, 219–230. https://doi.org/10.1007/s007040200006
Mihalakakou, G., Flocas, H. A., Santamouris, M., & Helmis, C. G. (2002). Application of neural networks to the simulation of the heat island over Athens, Greece, using synoptic types as a predictor. Journal of Applied Meteorology, 41(5), 519–527. 2.0.CO;2> https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(2002)041<0519:AONNTT>2.0.CO;2
Mihalakakou, G., Santamouris, M., Papanikolaou, N., Cartalis, C., & Tsangrassoulis, A. (2004). Simulation of the urban heat island phenomenon in Mediterranean climates. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 161, 429–451. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-003-2447-4
Montanges, A. P., Moser, G., Taubenböck, H., Wurm, M., & Tuia, D. (2015). Classification of urban structural types with multisource data and structured models. In 2015 Joint Urban Remote Sensing Event (JURSE) (pp. 1–4), Lausanne, Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1109/JURSE.2015.7120489
Park, C. Y., Lee, D. K., Asawa, T., Murakami, A., Kim, H. G., Lee, M. K., & Lee, H. S. (2019). Influence of urban form on the cooling effect of a small urban river. Landscape and Urban Planning, 183, 26–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2018.10.022
Peng, J., Liu, Q., Xu, Z., Liu, D., Du, Y., & Qiao, R. (2020). How to effectively mitigate urban heat island effect? A perspective of waterbody patch size threshold. Landscape and Urban Planning, 202, Article 103873. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2020.103873
Qin, L., Liu, H., Shang, G., Yang, H., & Yan, H. (2022). Thermal environment effects of built-up land expansion in Shijiazhuang. Land, 11(7), Article 968. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11070968
Quah, A. K. L., & Roth, M. (2012). Diurnal and weekly variation of anthropogenic heat emissions in a tropical city, Singapore. Atmospheric Environment, 46, 92–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2011.10.015
Ruiz, M. A., Colli, M. F., Martinez, C. F., & Correa-Cantaloube, E. N. (2022). Park cool island and built environment. A ten-year evaluation in Parque Central, Mendoza-Argentina. Sustainable Cities and Society, 79, Article 103681. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2022.103681
Shi, H., Xian, G., Auch, R., Gallo, K., & Zhou, Q. (2021). Urban heat island and its regional impacts using remotely sensed thermal data-a review of recent developments and methodology. Land, 10(8), Article 867. https://doi.org/10.3390/land10080867
Spronken-Smith, R. A., & Oke, T. R. (1999). Scale modelling of nocturnal cooling in urban parks. Boundary-Layer Meteorology, 93(2), 287–312. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1002001408973
Sun, X., Tan, X., Chen, K., Song, S., Zhu, X., & Hou, D. (2020). Quantifying landscape-metrics impacts on urban green-spaces and water-bodies cooling effect: The study of Nanjing, China. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 55, Article 126838. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2020.126838
Tang, L., Zhan, Q., Fan, Y., Liu, H., & Fan, Z. (2023). Exploring the impacts of greenspace spatial patterns on land surface temperature across different urban functional zones: A case study in Wuhan metropolitan area, China. Ecological Indicators, 146, Article 109787. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.109787
Toparlar, Y., Blocken, B., Maiheu, B., & van Heijst, G. J. F. (2018). The effect of an urban park on the microclimate in its vicinity: A case study for Antwerp, Belgium. International Journal of Climatology, 38(S1), 303–322. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.5371
Wang, X., Cheng, H., Yang, J., Wang, X., & Zhao, Y. (2018). Relationship between park composition, vegetation characteristics and cool Island effect. Sustainability, 10(3), Article 587. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10030587
Yang, J., Guo, R., Li, D., Wang, X., & Li, F. (2022). Interval-thresholding effect of cooling and recreational services of urban parks in metropolises. Sustainable Cities and Society, 79, Article 103684. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2022.103684
Yang, P., Xiao, Z.-N., & Ye, M.-S. (2016). Cooling effect of urban parks and their relationship with urban heat islands. Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters, 9(4), 298–305. https://doi.org/10.1080/16742834.2016.1191316
Zhang, Q., Zhou, D., Xu, D., & Rogora, A. (2022). Correlation between cooling effect of green space and surrounding urban spatial form: Evidence from 36 urban green spaces. Building and Environment, 222, Article 109375. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2022.109375
Zhou, D., Zhao, S., Zhang, L., Sun, G., & Liu, Y. (2015). The footprint of urban heat island effect in China. Scientific Reports, 5, Article 11160. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep11160