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Urban Heat Island Mitigation and Urban Green Spaces: Testing a Model in the City of Padova (Italy)

Author

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  • Paolo Semenzato

    (Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry (TESAF), University of Padova, Campus Agripolis, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy)

  • Lucia Bortolini

    (Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry (TESAF), University of Padova, Campus Agripolis, Viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy)

Abstract

The urban heat island (UHI) is a critical issue in most urbanised areas. Spatial variation of urban air temperature and humidity influences human thermal comfort, the settling rate of atmospheric pollutants, and the energy demand for cooling. UHIs can be particularly harmful to human health and there are numerous studies that link mortality and morbidity with extreme thermal events, that can be worsened by UHIs. The temperature difference between city centres and the surrounding countryside, which is accentuated in the summer months and at night, is the result not only of a greater production of anthropogenic heat but is mainly due to the properties of urban surfaces. The use of vegetation, and in particular urban tree planting, is one of possible strategies to contrast the heat island effects. In order to analyse the mitigation effects produced by green spaces in the city of Padova, a municipality in the northeast of Italy, simulations of the air temperature variations and their spatial distribution were carried out using the i-Tree Cool Air model. High-resolution RGBir aerial photos were processed to produce a tree canopy and a permeability map and the model was applied on a 10 m × 10 m grid over the entire city, producing a raster map of the aboveground air temperatures. A particularly hot July day with recorded air temperatures of 35 °C at 3 p.m. and 28 °C at 10 p.m. at a reference weather station was chosen for the test. In the daytime, the results show temperature differences up to almost 10 °C between urban open spaces with impervious cover (squares, streets) and green areas under tree canopy. At night, the simulated air temperatures are only slightly cooler in areas with tree cover than those recorded at the reference station, while urban areas with sealed surfaces maintain air temperatures 4.4 °C higher. The study was aimed at testing the applicability of the model as a tool for predicting air temperatures in relation to land use and canopy cover. The results show that the model can potentially be used to compare different urban forest and urban greening planning scenarios, however, further research is necessary to assess the reliability of the temperature predictions.

Suggested Citation

  • Paolo Semenzato & Lucia Bortolini, 2023. "Urban Heat Island Mitigation and Urban Green Spaces: Testing a Model in the City of Padova (Italy)," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-13, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:2:p:476-:d:1068783
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Alexandre Ornelas & António Cordeiro & José Miguel Lameiras, 2023. "Thermal Comfort Assessment in Urban Green Spaces: Contribution of Thermography to the Study of Thermal Variation between Tree Canopies and Air Temperature," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-18, August.
    2. Ebuga & Emmanuel Attah & Datukun & Hannatu Lucius & Bashayi Obadiah, 2023. "Evolving Green Areas Planning Strategies as A Means of Mitigating Urban Heat Island in Lafia Town, Nasarawa State, Nigeria," International Journal of Latest Technology in Engineering, Management & Applied Science, International Journal of Latest Technology in Engineering, Management & Applied Science (IJLTEMAS), vol. 12(08), pages 112-124, August.
    3. Majda Ćesić & Katarina Rogulj & Jelena Kilić Pamuković & Andrija Krtalić, 2024. "A Systematic Review on Fuzzy Decision Support Systems and Multi-Criteria Analysis in Urban Heat Island Management," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-42, April.
    4. Michael Strobel & Uli Jakob & Wolfgang Streicher & Daniel Neyer, 2023. "Spatial Distribution of Future Demand for Space Cooling Applications and Potential of Solar Thermal Cooling Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-32, June.
    5. Jinlong Yan & Chaohui Yin & Zihao An & Bo Mu & Qian Wen & Yingchao Li & Yali Zhang & Weiqiang Chen & Ling Wang & Yang Song, 2023. "The Influence of Urban Form on Land Surface Temperature: A Comprehensive Investigation from 2D Urban Land Use and 3D Buildings," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-18, September.
    6. Alessandra Longo & Chiara Semenzin & Linda Zardo, 2025. "Multi-Hazards and Existing Data: A Transboundary Assessment for Climate Planning," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-28, March.

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