Cooling performance of residential greenery in localised urban climates: a case study in Shanghai China

Abstract

Residential greenery provides accessible amenity space and moderated microclimate for local community. Research has indicated that the cooling performance of urban greenery is impacted by the geometry and fabric of surrounding humanised envelope. The paper proposes a research framework inspired by the idea of urban climate zone (UCZ) to investigate cooling performance of residential greenery in localised urban climates. The inner-city of Shanghai was divided into four UCZs, the meteorological as well as greenery form/density data was measured from ten residential quarters throughout four UCZs. The tree canopy shading and overall foliage density, qualified by the tree view factor and green plot ratio respectively, were found capable of partly explaining the variation in air temperature mitigation. The local urban effect has notable effect on the cooling rates. Residential greenery should be integrated into local green network to optimise its cooling performance.