Reshaping the concept of transit-oriented development in response to public space overheating near the transit nodes of Tokyo

Abstract

In Tokyo, the overheating of public spaces in summer is a challenging issue that needs to be resolved for the vibrant social life in this city to be sustained. The urbanisation of Tokyo is based on transit-oriented developments (TODs); this study focused on understanding the correlation between the urban heat island (UHI) effect and public spaces within TODs and on providing solutions for mitigating the overheating of such spaces. The onsite microclimatic data of 30 public spaces near transit nodes were compared with average daily weather forecast data to identify the overheating levels. The spatial structures of the selected areas were then analysed to identify possible planning issues that led to the overheating. Public spaces with high-overheating levels tended to have a lack of vegetation and to be small, dry, and blocked from the wind flow. Public spaces that were not overheated tended to be wide, green, and shaded. These spaces had a microclimate similar to the daily weather forecast. These findings were used to develop new planning guidelines for improving TODs, developing overheating mitigation strategies for public spaces, and identifying future directions for sustainable improvement of the urban structure.