IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v13y2024i12p2175-d1543390.html

Design and Site-Related Factors Impacting the Cooling Performance of Urban Parks in Different Climate Zones: A Systematic Review

Author

Listed:
  • Maryam Norouzi

    (Institute for Sustainable Industries and Liveable Cities, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC 3011, Australia)

  • Hing-Wah Chau

    (Institute for Sustainable Industries and Liveable Cities, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC 3011, Australia)

  • Elmira Jamei

    (Institute for Sustainable Industries and Liveable Cities, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC 3011, Australia)

Abstract

As cities expand rapidly, the combined effects of urbanization, global warming, and the intensification of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) phenomenon have become more challenging for urban environments. In response, Urban Green Infrastructure (UGI) has gained attention as a practical and effective tool for mitigating UHI and improving climate change. Among various UGIs, urban parks have been the subject of numerous studies due to their proven ability to reduce air and surface temperatures, improve local microclimates, and enhance overall urban livability. This systematic review synthesizes the existing body of research to identify key factors that influence the cooling performance of urban parks. A total of 131 peer-reviewed studies between 2014 and 2024 were analyzed, focusing on both design-related and site-related factors that play pivotal roles in a park’s cooling effectiveness. Design-related factors include park size, shape, vegetation density and composition, the presence of water bodies, and impervious surfaces while site-related factors encompass background climate conditions, the proximity to natural water bodies, and the urban configuration surrounding the parks. The findings reveal that park size, tree coverage, and the presence of water bodies are the most influential design-related factors in enhancing cooling performance. For site-related factors, wind speed and direction emerged as critical components for maximizing cooling benefits. Research also showed urban configuration can affect the overall cooling performance by influencing airflow patterns and shading. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for cities worldwide as they strive to design parks that address their specific environmental and climatic challenges. The findings of this review offer practical guidance for landscape architects and urban planners, enabling them to design parks that deliver enhanced cooling benefits, especially when cities face rising temperatures and an increasing number of heatwaves.

Suggested Citation

  • Maryam Norouzi & Hing-Wah Chau & Elmira Jamei, 2024. "Design and Site-Related Factors Impacting the Cooling Performance of Urban Parks in Different Climate Zones: A Systematic Review," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-42, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:12:p:2175-:d:1543390
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/12/2175/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/12/2175/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mingjun Sun & Xinyi Zhao & Yun Wang & Zeqi Ren & Xin Fu, 2023. "Factors Affecting the High-Intensity Cooling Distance of Urban Green Spaces: A Case Study of Xi’an, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-13, April.
    2. World Bank, 2020. "Analysis of Heat Waves and Urban Heat Island Effects in Central European Cities and Implications for Urban Planning," World Bank Publications - Reports 34335, The World Bank Group.
    3. Jiang Li & Hao Wang & Xiaoxi Cai & Shaobo Liu & Wenbo Lai & Yating Chang & Jialing Qi & Gexuan Zhu & Chuyu Zhang & Yudan Liu, 2024. "Quantifying Urban Spatial Morphology Indicators on the Green Areas Cooling Effect: The Case of Changsha, China, a Subtropical City," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-18, May.
    4. Yang, An-Shik & Juan, Yu-Hsuan & Wen, Chih-Yung & Chang, Chao-Jui, 2017. "Numerical simulation of cooling effect of vegetation enhancement in a subtropical urban park," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 178-200.
    5. Michael C. Ekwe & Fatimah Adamu & Joseph Gana & Grace Chika Nwafor & Rabi Usman & Jemimah Nom & Ogonnaya D. Onu & Oluwatola Ibukun Adedeji & Shaba A. Halilu & Olaide M. Aderoju, 2021. "The effect of green spaces on the urban thermal environment during a hot-dry season: a case study of Port Harcourt, Nigeria," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(7), pages 10056-10079, July.
    6. Andrea Pianella & Lu Aye & Zhengdong Chen & Nicholas S. G. Williams, 2017. "Substrate Depth, Vegetation and Irrigation Affect Green Roof Thermal Performance in a Mediterranean Type Climate," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-19, August.
    7. Kun Li & Xuefei Li & Keji Yao, 2022. "Outdoor Thermal Environments of Main Types of Urban Areas during Summer: A Field Study in Wuhan, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-25, January.
    8. Songxin Zheng & Lichen Liu & Xiaofeng Dong & Yanqing Hu & Pengpeng Niu, 2022. "Dominance of Influencing Factors on Cooling Effect of Urban Parks in Different Climatic Regions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-17, November.
    9. Elmira Jamei & Gokul Thirunavukkarasu & Majed Abuseif & Mehdi Seyedmahmoudian & Saad Mekhilef & Alex Stojcevski & Hing-Wah Chau, 2023. "Simulation-Based Study on the Effect of Green Roofs on Summer Energy Performance in Melbourne," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-19, November.
    10. E-M. Trell & M.T. van Geet, 2019. "The Governance of Local Urban Climate Adaptation: Towards Participation, Collaboration and Shared Responsibilities," Planning Theory & Practice, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(3), pages 376-394, May.
    11. Filoteo Gomez-Martinez & Kirsten M. de Beurs & Jennifer Koch & Jeffrey Widener, 2021. "Multi-Temporal Land Surface Temperature and Vegetation Greenness in Urban Green Spaces of Puebla, Mexico," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-25, February.
    12. Xiaojing Feng & Jiahao Yu & Chuliang Xin & Tianhao Ye & Tian’ao Wang & Honglin Chen & Xuemei Zhang & Lili Zhang, 2023. "Quantifying and Comparing the Cooling Effects of Three Different Morphologies of Urban Parks in Chengdu," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-21, February.
    13. Dakota McCarty & Jaekyung Lee & Hyun Woo Kim, 2021. "Machine Learning Simulation of Land Cover Impact on Surface Urban Heat Island Surrounding Park Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-24, November.
    14. Yunfang Jiang & Jing Huang & Tiemao Shi & Xiaolin Li, 2021. "Cooling Island Effect of Blue-Green Corridors: Quantitative Comparison of Morphological Impacts," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-28, November.
    15. Tian Wang & Hui Tu & Bo Min & Zuzheng Li & Xiaofang Li & Qingxiang You, 2022. "The Mitigation Effect of Park Landscape on Thermal Environment in Shanghai City Based on Remote Sensing Retrieval Method," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-24, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ogce, Semra & Ogce, Huseyin & Yu, Siyu & Brown, Robert D., 2025. "The interaction between urban heat island and urban parks: An in-situ measurement-based review," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    2. Hing-Wah Chau & Majed Abuseif & Shiran Geng & Elmira Jamei, 2025. "Key Barriers and Challenges to Green Infrastructure Implementation: Policy Insights from the Melbourne Case," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-23, April.
    3. Stergios Koutsanitis & Maria Sinou & Zoe Kanetaki & Evgenia Tousi & George Varelidis, 2025. "Thermal Performance Investigation in Historical Urban Neighborhoods Using ENVI-Met Simulation Software," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-33, January.
    4. Sevgi Yilmaz & Yaşar Menteş & Elmira Jamei, 2025. "Investigating the Effect of Blue–Green Infrastructure on Thermal Condition—Case Study: Elazığ, Turkey," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-26, April.
    5. Alia Wokan & Mădălina Iordache, 2025. "Ecosystem Services Provided by an Urban Green Space in Timișoara (Romania): Linking Urban Vegetation with Air Quality and Cooling Effects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-34, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chen, Wenqi & Pan, Jinghan & Quan, Steven Jige & Wei, Hailu & Wang, Wei, 2026. "Scalable impact of urban green infrastructure on urban climate: A critical review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 226(PA).
    2. Sudeshna Haldar & Priyanka Dey, 2024. "Towards UHI mitigation adopting park cooling effect: Two- decade literature review for a theoretical framework," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 29(8), pages 1-25, December.
    3. Jiang Li & Hao Wang & Xiaoxi Cai & Shaobo Liu & Wenbo Lai & Yating Chang & Jialing Qi & Gexuan Zhu & Chuyu Zhang & Yudan Liu, 2024. "Quantifying Urban Spatial Morphology Indicators on the Green Areas Cooling Effect: The Case of Changsha, China, a Subtropical City," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-18, May.
    4. Brunetti, Giuseppe & Porti, Michele & Piro, Patrizia, 2018. "Multi-level numerical and statistical analysis of the hygrothermal behavior of a non-vegetated green roof in a mediterranean climate," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 204-219.
    5. Li, Ruibin & Zhao, Yi & Chang, Min & Zeng, Fanxing & Wu, Yan & Wang, Liangzhu (Leon) & Niu, Jianlei & Shi, Xing & Gao, Naiping, 2024. "Numerical simulation methods of tree effects on microclimate: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    6. Ainun Hasanah & Jing Wu, 2025. "Bibliometric analysis and global research trends of climate change and cities studies for 30 years (1990–2021)," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 5573-5617, March.
    7. Min Wang & Yuqing Su & Jieqiong Wang, 2025. "How to Improve Blue–Green–Gray Infrastructure to Optimize River Cooling Island Effect on Riparian Zone for Outdoor Activities in Summer," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-34, June.
    8. Peta Brom & Kristine Engemann & Christina Breed & Maya Pasgaard & Titilope Onaolapo & Jens-Christian Svenning, 2023. "A Decision Support Tool for Green Infrastructure Planning in the Face of Rapid Urbanization," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-19, February.
    9. Chih-Hong Huang & Hsin-Hua Tsai & Hung-chen Chen, 2020. "Influence of Weather Factors on Thermal Comfort in Subtropical Urban Environments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-23, March.
    10. Daniel Mora-Melià & Carlos S. López-Aburto & Pablo Ballesteros-Pérez & Pedro Muñoz-Velasco, 2018. "Viability of Green Roofs as a Flood Mitigation Element in the Central Region of Chile," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-19, April.
    11. Chunyu Chen & Linglan Bi & Kuanfan Zhu, 2021. "Study on Spatial-Temporal Change of Urban Green Space in Yangtze River Economic Belt and Its Driving Mechanism," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-20, November.
    12. Vera, Sergio & Pinto, Camilo & Tabares-Velasco, Paulo Cesar & Bustamante, Waldo, 2018. "A critical review of heat and mass transfer in vegetative roof models used in building energy and urban enviroment simulation tools," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 752-764.
    13. Ningcheng Gao & Hui Zhang & Pei Wang & Ling Ning & Nyuk Hien Wong & Haibo Yu & Zikang Ke, 2023. "Research on Microclimate-Suitable Spatial Patterns of Waterfront Settlements in Summer: A Case Study of the Nan Lake Area in Wuhan, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-26, November.
    14. Ashraful Hassan, 2026. "Rooftop Farming as Climate Adaptation and Its Legal Framework for Sustainable Urban Living in Bangladesh," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 10(4), pages 4956-4966, April.
    15. Rifat Olgun & Nihat Karakuş & Serdar Selim & Tahsin Yilmaz & Reyhan Erdoğan & Meliha Aklıbaşında & Burçin Dönmez & Mert Çakır & Zeynep R. Ardahanlıoğlu, 2025. "Impacts of Landscape Composition on Land Surface Temperature in Expanding Desert Cities: A Case Study in Arizona, USA," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-30, June.
    16. Shuxin Fan & Mengyuan Zhang & Yilun Li & Kun Li & Li Dong, 2021. "Impacts of Composition and Canopy Characteristics of Plant Communities on Microclimate and Airborne Particles in Beijing, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-17, April.
    17. Taher Safarrad & Mostafa Ghadami & Andreas Dittmann & Mousa Pazhuhan (Panahandeh Khah), 2021. "Tourism Effect on the Spatiotemporal Pattern of Land Surface Temperature (LST): Babolsar and Fereydonkenar Cities (Cases Study in Iran)," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-25, September.
    18. Korneliusz Pylak & Jakub Pizoń & Ewa Łazuka, 2024. "Evolution of Regional Innovation Strategies Towards the Transition to Green Energy in Europe 2014–2027," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-25, November.
    19. Juan Manuel Núñez & Andrea Santamaría & Leonardo Avila & D. A. Perez-De La Mora, 2024. "Using Local Entropy Mapping as an Approach to Quantify Surface Temperature Changes Induced by Urban Parks in Mexico City," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-16, October.
    20. Lee, Louis S.H. & Jim, C.Y., 2019. "Energy benefits of green-wall shading based on novel-accurate apportionment of short-wave radiation components," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 1506-1518.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:12:p:2175-:d:1543390. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask MDPI Indexing Manager to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.