Seasonal environmental cooling benefits of urban green and blue spaces in arid regions

Abd-Elmabod, Sameh Kotb; Gui, Dongwei; Liu, Qi; Liu, Yunfei; Al-Qthanin, Rahmah N.; Jiménez-González, Marco A.; Jones, Laurence ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4379-9006. 2024 Seasonal environmental cooling benefits of urban green and blue spaces in arid regions. Sustainable Cities and Society, 115, 105805. 15, pp. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2024.105805

Full text not available from this repository.

Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2024.105805

Abstract/Summary

Green and blue spaces are vital for mitigating urban heat island impacts but are poorly studied in arid regions. In this study, we quantify monthly and seasonal cooling for five contrasting types of green and blue infrastructure (GBI): rivers, lakes, "captured" agricultural areas, urban parks, and golf courses in the Cairo and Giza provinces of Egypt. Using Landsat-8 images of Land Surface Temperature (LST) we assessed change in LST along bisecting transects and in circle plots for three replicates of each GBI type, in each of four seasons. Cooling was greatest in summer for all GBI types. Cooling differentials of LST were greater for water bodies than for green spaces. Ordered by increasing cooling potential (May LST cooling) they were: Agricultural areas (3.3 °C), Golf courses (4.3 °C), Parks (4.4 °C), Lakes (8.2 °C) and Rivers (12.2 °C). The cooling effects extending into adjacent buffer areas were greatest for blue spaces like rivers and lakes. This paper provides the first data for cooling by less-studied GBI types in arid regions, such as golf courses and urban agriculture. It provides information to support city planners to embrace green and blue spaces within metropolitan areas and to protect them from urban sprawl.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2024.105805
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Soils and Land Use (Science Area 2017-)
ISSN:	2210-6707
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.
Additional Keywords:	urban heat island (UHI), urban planning, green infrastructure, ecosystem services, climate change
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment
Date made live:	27 Sep 2024 09:41 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/538092

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2024.105805

UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:

Soils and Land Use (Science Area 2017-)

ISSN:

2210-6707

Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:

Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.

Additional Keywords:

urban heat island (UHI), urban planning, green infrastructure, ecosystem services, climate change