Abstract
Global climate change and urban heat island intensification are making many cities dangerously hot during heat waves. There is a need for a clear process for applying microclimate information in urban design to create cooler cities. A recent paper points out the gaps in research methodology and suggests the need for implementation-oriented research. It suggests action steps to take research from theory to practice. The framework has five steps, and in our paper, we have addressed four of those steps: (1) understanding the needs of designers; (2) integrated research on urban microclimate factors; (3) development of guidance methods for better design; and (4) developing user-friendly tools. To address the first step, a group of Chinese landscape architects was given a questionnaire and it was found that they perceived principles and guidelines as being the most useful microclimatic design methods. The second step was addressed through a case study with on-site measurements and modeling. In step 3, microclimate information was used to redesign the site. The process that followed addressed the fourth step by illustrating user-friendly tools.
Highlights
Over the last few decades, measurements have revealed a warming trend in the earth’s climate [1,2,3]
Given that China has a large number of landscape practitioners [31] and an increasing number of journal articles on microclimate design by Chinese authors, understanding the knowledge and attitudes of Chinese landscape architects will help open up new avenues for microclimatic design practice
Given that evaluations are the least frequently used method among respondents and that the majority are unfamiliar with the Envi-met and COMFA models, it is clear that Chinese landscape architects lack understanding and application of microclimate evaluation software
Summary
Over the last few decades, measurements have revealed a warming trend in the earth’s climate [1,2,3]. There is compelling evidence that the expansion of urban heat islands exacerbates this effect in urban settings [4,5] The combination of these two processes raises the temperature of the outdoor environment, having far-reaching influences on human thermal comfort and public health [6,7]. Living in a hotter urban area will increase the risk of heatstroke and other heat-related illnesses during heat waves, as well as the risk of developing chronic health problems because hot weather discourages people from going outside and walking [6,9] According to studies, these effects can be mitigated through proper site planning and design, but only if the designer understands how microclimates are created in an urban environment and how to manage microclimates [2,10].
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