Spatial influence of exposure to green spaces on the climate comfort of urban habitats in China

Abstract

This study aimed to improve the number of days with comfortable climate by increasing urban green space exposure. Geographic information technology and a spatial econometrics model were used to analyze the spatial influence and heterogeneity of urban green spaces on the climate comfort of urban habitats in China. The model was built using urban green space data extracted from remote sensing images, and days with comfortable climatic conditions, measured through the temperature and humidity index. The results showed that exposure to green space was generally high in Northeast and Southwest China, and low in Northwest and Southeast China. The exposure to green space of high urbanization level cities is generally lower than cities with low urbanization level. The climate comfort of urban habitats in the northeast and northwest is relatively cold, whereas that of those in the south, central and east is relatively hot. Southwest China has a complex and diverse range of climates. The climate of North China experiences greatly extremes of cold and heat in a year. The significance and mechanism of the influence of exposure to urban green space on climate comfort are differences in different regions. High exposure to green space can adjust thermal comfort by means of water storage, transpiration and heat absorption, reducing the range of temperature difference between day and night, and blocking cold and warm air flow. In addition, moderate human activities and sustainable land use can improve exposure to green space to help vegetation fully contact the air, affecting climate comfort by promoting evaporation and reducing thermal radiation.