IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i19p8475-d1488683.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impact of ENVI-met-Based Road Greening Design on Thermal Comfort and PM 2.5 Concentration in Hot–Humid Areas

Author

Listed:
  • Meng Du

    (School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Guangzhou University, 230 Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center West Outer Ring Road, Panyu District, Guangzhou 510006, China)

  • Yang Zhao

    (School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Guangzhou University, 230 Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center West Outer Ring Road, Panyu District, Guangzhou 510006, China)

  • Jiahao Yang

    (School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Guangzhou University, 230 Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center West Outer Ring Road, Panyu District, Guangzhou 510006, China)

  • Wanying Wang

    (School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Guangzhou University, 230 Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center West Outer Ring Road, Panyu District, Guangzhou 510006, China)

  • Xinyi Luo

    (School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Guangzhou University, 230 Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center West Outer Ring Road, Panyu District, Guangzhou 510006, China)

  • Ziyu Zhong

    (School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Guangzhou University, 230 Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center West Outer Ring Road, Panyu District, Guangzhou 510006, China)

  • Bixue Huang

    (School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Guangzhou University, 230 Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center West Outer Ring Road, Panyu District, Guangzhou 510006, China)

Abstract

Road greening markedly impacts road thermal comfort and air quality. However, previous studies have primarily focused on thermal comfort or PM 2.5 individually, with relatively few addressing both aspects comprehensively, particularly in humid regions. This study combined field measurements and simulations. It employed physiological equivalent temperature (PET) and quantified the horizontal distribution of particulate matter 2.5 (PM 2.5 ). The research examines the effects of planting spacing, tree species, and tree–shrub combinations on pedestrian walkways in humid climates during both summer and winter. Using measured tree data and road PM 2.5 , a plant model was established and pollution emission parameters were set to validate the effectiveness of the ENVI-met through fitting simulations under various scenarios. The results indicated that (1) plant spacing for trees influenced both the road thermal environment and PM 2.5 levels. Smaller spacing improved thermal conditions but increased PM 2.5 . (2) trees with large canopies and high leaf area indices (LAIs) notably enhanced thermal comfort, while those with smaller canopies and dense understories facilitated PM 2.5 dispersion. The 3 m spacing resulted in a maximum absolute PM 2.5 concentration difference (C) of 5.05 μg/m 3 in summer and a maximum mean absolute PM 2.5 concentration difference (M) in the downwind region of 2.13 μg/m 3 in winter. (3) Combining trees with shrubs moderately improved pedestrian thermal comfort. However, taller shrubs elevated PM 2.5 concentrations on walkways; heights ranging from 1.5 m to 2 m in summer showed higher C values of 5.38 μg/m 3 and 5.37 μg/m 3 . This study provides references and new perspectives for the optimization of roadway greening design in humid areas in China.

Suggested Citation

  • Meng Du & Yang Zhao & Jiahao Yang & Wanying Wang & Xinyi Luo & Ziyu Zhong & Bixue Huang, 2024. "Impact of ENVI-met-Based Road Greening Design on Thermal Comfort and PM 2.5 Concentration in Hot–Humid Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-30, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:19:p:8475-:d:1488683
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/19/8475/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/19/8475/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. William Hill & Emilia L. Lim & Clare E. Weeden & Claudia Lee & Marcellus Augustine & Kezhong Chen & Feng-Che Kuan & Fabio Marongiu & Edward J. Evans & David A. Moore & Felipe S. Rodrigues & Oriol Pich, 2023. "Lung adenocarcinoma promotion by air pollutants," Nature, Nature, vol. 616(7955), pages 159-167, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Ulrich Hommel & Konstanze Hurth & Jean-Michel Rondeau & Anna Vulpetti & Daniela Ostermeier & Andreas Boettcher & Jacob Peter Brady & Michael Hediger & Sylvie Lehmann & Elke Koch & Anke Blechschmidt & , 2023. "Discovery of a selective and biologically active low-molecular weight antagonist of human interleukin-1β," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Liyang Wan & Yunxiao Liu & Kangjuan Lv & Ning Zhang, 2024. "Firm Innovation in Hazy Days: Chinese Evidence," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 87(7), pages 1923-1954, July.
    3. Tatyana Deryugina & Julian Reif, 2023. "The Long-run Effect of Air Pollution on Survival," NBER Working Papers 31858, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Jingmei Jiang & Luwen Zhang & Zixing Wang & Wentao Gu & Cuihong Yang & Yubing Shen & Jing Zhao & Wei Han & Yaoda Hu & Fang Xue & Wangyue Chen & Xiaobo Guo & Hairong Li & Peng Wu & Yali Chen & Yujie Zh, 2024. "Spatial consistency of co-exposure to air and surface water pollution and cancer in China," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.

    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:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:19:p:8475-:d:1488683. 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 (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.