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Urban Heat Island Mitigation and Adaptation for Sustainability in Developing...
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Urban Heat Island Mitigation and Adaptation for Sustainability in Developing Countries

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Hazards and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 12926

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Manjula Ranagalage

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Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Management, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Mihintale 50300, Sri Lanka
Interests: urban studies; remote sensing; GIS; spatial analysis; urban sustainability; urban climate; urban geography; urban disasters
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. DMSLB Dissanayake

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Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Management, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Mihintale 50300, Sri Lanka
Interests: urban studies; remote sensing; GIS; spatial analysis; urban sustainability; urban change modeling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Matamyo Simwanda

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Guest Editor
Copperbelt University, Kitwe 21692, Zambia
Interests: urban studies; urban geography; urban ecological assessments; environmental impact assessments; GIS; remote sensing; spatial analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Yuji Murayama

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Guest Editor
Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba 305-8572, Japan
Interests: human geography; GIScience; geospatial analysis; spatial modeling; urban geography
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The number of inhabitants in urban areas has been increasing dramatically in recent decades due to the socioeconomic prosperity footprint of urban agglomeration when compared to rural areas. Urban agglomeration in this context refers to the spatial concentration of socioeconomic activities in urban areas that has led to an increase in impervious surface density at the expense of green spaces. One of the resulting significant adverse impacts from this development has been the urban heat island (UHI). The highlighted point is that the effects of the UHI have been accelerating at an alarming rate and approaching levels of irreversibility. Thus, in the past few decades, research on the UHI has become prominent in various fields.

The UHI effect is a phenomenon whereby cities are becoming warmer than their surrounding areas. In another aspect, it is defined as the temperature difference between an urban area and its surroundings, and it could be the result of changes in land cover and increasing anthropogenic heat sources. There are several negative impacts of UHI, such as decreasing air quality, increased energy consumption, weakening of living environments, increasing heat stress, as well as compromised human health and comfort. Making a bottleneck for urbanization is impossible, and the elimination of the UHI effect is not feasible. Thus, it is essential to understand the spatial and temporal variation of the UHI to develop and implement effective mitigation and adaptation measures in the urban area for urban sustainability.

In this Special Issue, we focus on scientific research contents that line up to the UHI mitigation and adaptation in developing countries. We will contribute to this Special Issue through research papers, case studies, conceptual or analytic reviews, and policy-relevant articles that will help to achieve urban sustainability.

Contributions include the following:

  • Air temperature and land surface temperature in UHI Studies
  • Urbanization and its impacts on urban heat island
  • Geospatial analysis for urban heat island phenomena
  • Availability of GIS and remote sensing for UHI studies
  • Prediction of urban heat island for future urban sustainability
  • Thermal comfort and public health
  • Urban heat island mitigation and adaptation for urban sustainability

Dr. Manjula Ranagalage
Dr. DMSLB Dissanayake
Dr. Matamyo Simwanda
Prof. Dr. Yuji Murayama
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 7032 KiB  
Article
Interrelationships between Land Use Land Cover (LULC) and Human Thermal Comfort (HTC): A Comparative Analysis of Different Spatial Settings
by Lee Bak Yeo, Gabriel Hoh Teck Ling, Mou Leong Tan and Pau Chung Leng
Sustainability 2021, 13(1), 382; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010382 - 4 Jan 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3133
Abstract
A few studies on outdoor human thermal comfort (HTC) have been conducted in the tropical region in a hot and humid climate; however, there is a paucity of discussions on how exactly different spatial settings influence HTC. Thus, this paper aims to examine [...] Read more.
A few studies on outdoor human thermal comfort (HTC) have been conducted in the tropical region in a hot and humid climate; however, there is a paucity of discussions on how exactly different spatial settings influence HTC. Thus, this paper aims to examine how land use land cover (LULC) affects HTC on the basis of the simulation of Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET) indices via ENVI-met and Rayman. The results reveal that people living in the urban area have a higher tendency to experience strong heat stress (25% of the areas with PMV ranging from 3.4 to 3.9 and 2% of the areas, where PMV reached 4.1), followed by the rural area (43% of the areas with PMV ranging from 2.1 to 2.4), and the suburban area (more than 50% of the areas with PMV values less than 2.4). Surprisingly, a concrete LULC in the suburb area exhibits a higher air temperature than an asphalt surface at 4 p.m., due to the large area of high albedo that increases the reflection of solar radiation, subsequently contributing to warming up the airmass. Similarly, sandy, and loamy LULC tend to emit more heat during nighttime, while the heat is absorbed slowly during daytime, and it is then slowly released during nighttime after 6 p.m. Spatial settings that promote heat stress in the urban area are mainly contributed by an LULC of asphalt, concrete, sandy, and loamy areas. Meanwhile, people in the suburban and rural areas are less likely to experience heat stress, due to agricultural plantations and lowland forest that provide shade, except for the barren lands-loamy areas. The result also indicates that tree-covered areas near the river in the suburban area afforded the best thermal experience with PMV of 2.1 and PET of 30.7. From the LULC comparison, it is pivotal to consider tree species (canopy density), surface material (albedo), sky-view factor, wind direction, and speed toward designing a more comfortable and sustainable environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Heat Island Mitigation and Adaptation for Sustainability in Developing Countries)
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18 pages, 5308 KiB  
Article
The Influence of Urban Climate on Bioclimatic Conditions in the City of Iași, Romania
by Pavel Ichim and Lucian Sfîcă
Sustainability 2020, 12(22), 9652; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229652 - 19 Nov 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3326
Abstract
This study was carried out in order to outline the human bioclimatic stress/comfort conditions within the area of Iași city, Romania. The meteorological data were obtained over a 7-year period (December 2012–November 2019) from an observation network relying on 8 fixed observation points [...] Read more.
This study was carried out in order to outline the human bioclimatic stress/comfort conditions within the area of Iași city, Romania. The meteorological data were obtained over a 7-year period (December 2012–November 2019) from an observation network relying on 8 fixed observation points located in selected spots, relevant for the urban climate conditions in the region. The results demonstrate firstly that throughout the entire analyzed period, using the thermo-hygrometric index (THI), “very cold” conditions characterize 4% of the entire year in the inner parts of the city and 6% in the rural area, while the “hot” THI conditions vary from 18% in the middle of the urban heat island to 15% in the rural area. Overall, the rural areas are generally more comfortable than the inner city, especially during summer, when the urban heat island (UHI) core is starting to develop from the evening and persists during the night. On the contrary, the UHI renders the inner city more comfortable than the rural surroundings from October to April. Similar bioclimatic conditions are also presented in detail for the summer by the relative strain index (RSI), which exceeds the stress threshold value mostly during heat waves, when a significant contrast between urban and rural areas is felt. In brief, it has been determined that the most suitable area for human comfort in Iași city is inside the urban area during the winter and in the rural areas during the summer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Heat Island Mitigation and Adaptation for Sustainability in Developing Countries)
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29 pages, 13206 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Urban Morphological Effect on the Microclimate of the Urban Residential Area of Kampung Baru in Kuala Lumpur Using a Geospatial Approach
by Sheikh Ahmad Zaki, Nor Suhada Azid, Mohd Fairuz Shahidan, Mohamad Zaki Hassan, Mohd Yusof Md Daud, Nor Azlina Abu Bakar, Mohamed Sukri Mat Ali and Fitri Yakub
Sustainability 2020, 12(18), 7301; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187301 - 6 Sep 2020
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 5387
Abstract
As a Malay Agricultural Settlement established in 1900, Kampung Baru which is located in Kuala Lumpur, has become a subject of prolonged national interests in terms of economic, social, environment, and political issues along with the pressure of modern and future development. This [...] Read more.
As a Malay Agricultural Settlement established in 1900, Kampung Baru which is located in Kuala Lumpur, has become a subject of prolonged national interests in terms of economic, social, environment, and political issues along with the pressure of modern and future development. This study investigated the urban morphological impact of Kampung Baru on the intensity of urban heat island (UHI) by developing a smart geodatabase for urban climatic mapping. The database provided baseline data which was crucial to unveil the spatiotemporal characteristics of UHI in Kampung Baru. Determination of the urban heat island intensity (UHII) in Kampung Baru was carried out through two approaches, mobile and fixed measurements. In a period of six days, the mobile measurement was conducted within the target area at night using a motorcycle equipped with the temperature and relative humidity data logger while the fixed measurement was conducted using the similar equipment installed at a school building in the area. Building height data were also collected while building footprints were digitized using a topographical map and the satellite image was used as the base map. To estimate the UHII, the reference data for rural temperature was obtained from the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MMD). All of the data were analyzed using ArcGIS to portray the temperature pattern in the study area. The analysis revealed the presence of UHI effect in Kampung Baru at the average building height of six to ten metres. The results of the fixed measurement showed an island-like local maximum in the study area with the average and maximum UHII values of 4.4 °C and 6.0 °C, respectively. The results from the mobile measurement also showed that the highest temperature was recorded in Kampung Baru rather than in the surrounding areas of different land-use types throughout the observation days. The spatial temperature distribution in the study area also showed that the most affected part was the south-west of Kampung Baru which is surrounded by tall buildings. The findings of this study could be utilized in the planning of new development in the city of Kuala Lumpur. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Heat Island Mitigation and Adaptation for Sustainability in Developing Countries)
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