Impacts of the Microclimate of a Large Urban Park on Its Surrounding Built Environment in the Summertime

The cooling effect of green spaces as an ecological solution to mitigate urban climate change is well documented. However, the factors influencing the microclimate in the built environment around forest parks, diurnal variations of their impact and their degree of importance have not been explicitly addressed. We attempted to quantify how much various landscape parameters, including land cover and spatial location, impact the ambient air and surface temperature in the area around Beijing's Olympic Forest Park. Data were taken along strategically located traverses inside and outside the park. We found: (1) The air temperature during the day was 1.0-3.5 & DEG;C lower in the park than in the surrounding area; the surface temperature was 1.7-4.8 & DEG;C lower; air humidity in the park increased by 8.7-15.1%; and the human comfort index reduced to 1.8-6.9, all generating a more comfortable thermal environment in the park than in the surrounding area. (2) The distance to the park and the green space ratio of the park's surrounding area are significant factors for regulating its microclimate. A 1 km increase in distance to the park caused the temperature to increase by 0.83 & DEG;C; when the green space ratio increased by 10%, the temperature dropped by 0.16 & DEG;C on average. The impact of these two parameters was more obvious in the afternoon than in the middle of the day or in the morning. The green space ratio could be used for designing a more stable thermal environment. (3) Land cover affects surface temperature more than it does air temperature. Our data suggest that an urban plan with an even distribution of green space would provide the greatest thermal comfort.

Automated summary

Research has shown that forest parks can help cool urban areas and create a more comfortable thermal environment; the distance to the park and the green space ratio around it are significant factors in regulating microclimates; an increase in green space ratio and distance from the park can lower air and surface temperatures, enhancing human comfort.