This paper analyzes the processes and characteristics of urbanization in Shanghai, focusing on the population and land use and land cover (LULC) change, and its correlation with the evolution of climatic and ecological indicators based on the historical land use data, meteorological station data, social statistical data, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and land surface temperature...

Understanding the link between greenspace patterns and land surface temperature is very important for mitigating the urban heat island (UHI) effect and is also useful for planners and decision-makers for providing a sustainable design for urban greenspace. Although coupling remote sensing data with a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model has widely been used to examine interactions between U...

A precipitation pattern scheme was combined with Koppen climate classes to form a five-class Global Climate Scheme for Urban Climate Studies (GCS/UCS) that explains observed diurnal variations of urban heat island (UHI) magnitude in different climatic zones. The validity of this scheme was demonstrated using urban/rural micrometeorological field measurements obtained during summer and winter in...

Urban heat islands (UHIs) created through urbanization can have negative impacts on the lives of people living in cities. They may also vary spatially and temporally over a city. There is, thus, a need for greater understanding of these patterns and their causes. While previous UHI studies focused on only a few cities and/or several explanatory variables, this research provides a comprehensive ...

The detailed study of the urban environment did not really begin until the start of the 20 century. Early studies by Fassig (1907), Saucier (1949), and Ligda and Bigler (1956) established the hypothetical down-wind effect of cities, while studies by Woollum and Canfield (1968) helped in localizing the hypothesized downwind effect of cities. As the evidence for the modification of weather by urb...

In Guadeloupe (French West Indies), the main municipal solid waste is surrounded by highly urbanized areas. An urban heat island (UHI) behavior has been identified in the landfill environment. It has been measured and its intensity (up to more than 4 C) has been shown to be negatively correlated with nebulosity and Tradewinds strength. Conditions for urban breeze detection have been examined. T...

This study examined a specific case of planning for policymaking in response to two physical environmental issues: flooding and the urban heat island effect (UHI). The Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP) was selected as a case study. Data were primarily collected through interviews as well as through policy review. The assessment showed significant differences in policymaking when comparing the...

The Yangtze River Delta (YRD) has experienced rapid urbanization and dramatic economic development since 1978 and the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration (YRDUA) has been one of the three largest urban agglomerations in China. We present evidence of a significant urban heat island (UHI) effect on climate warming based on an analysis of the impacts of the urbanization rate, urban population,...

By the year 2003, 47% of the world’s 6.3 billion inhabitants were living in urban areas, while in more developed countries, 75% of the population (1.2 billion) lived in urban areas (Population Reference Bureau, 2003). As more and more people make their residencies in the heart of the industrial and commercial world, urbanisation will continue to grow. Alterations to the natural environment due ...

An urban health index (UHI) was used to quantify health inequalities within Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the years 2002-2010. Eight main health indicators were generated at the ward level using mortality data. The indicators were combined to form the index. The distribution of the rank ordered UHI-values provides information on inequality among wards, using the ratio of the extremes and the grad...