Outdoor Thermal Environment Regulation of Urban Green and Blue Infrastructure on Various Types of Pedestrian Walkways

Urban green and blue infrastructure (GBI) is effective in urban heat mitigation. However, the diurnal variations in the thermal regulation of GBI on different types of urban pedestrian walkways in the subtropical humid climate zone are unclear. Based on traverse measurements in January 2022, this study investigates how outdoor air temperature (Ta) and wet-bulb temperature (Tw) at the pedestrian level are affected by various urban morphology and GBI characteristics in the central urbanized area of Guangzhou (China). Six building-related, three vegetation-related, and three water-related parameters were applied in the analyses. Results show that green infrastructure (GI) has the strongest cooling effect (Pearson's coefficient r = -0.33 similar to-0.54) on Ta on cloudy evenings and the weakest cooling effect (r = -0.22 similar to-0.32) on clear evenings. Blue infrastructure (BI) exhibits the highest correlations with the cooling effect for Ta on clear afternoons (r = -0.35 similar to-0.51) and weaker, but more consistent, correlations throughout cloudy days (r = -0.23 similar to-0.43). Strong correlations between GI and Tw cooling are observed in the morning and evening on clear days (r = -0.13 similar to-0.48), while BI exhibits the strongest correlation with Tw cooling on clear afternoons (r = -0.13 similar to-0.37). In addition, both GI and BI show a greater cooling effect on both Ta and Tw in low-rise areas compared to high-rise areas. Compared to the individual GI or BI, the integrated GBI has a higher cooling intensity for both Ta and Tw in high-rise areas. However, the cooling potential of integrated GBI is slightly lower for both Ta and Tw during noon and afternoon in low-rise areas. The findings of this study give insights into urban GBI planning and design of specific urban microclimate regulation strategies.

Automated summary

This study investigates the thermal regulation of green and blue infrastructure (GBI) on different types of urban pedestrian walkways in Guangzhou. The results show that green infrastructure has the strongest cooling effect on outdoor air temperature (Ta) on cloudy evenings, while blue infrastructure exhibits the highest correlations with Ta cooling on clear afternoons. Both green and blue infrastructure have a greater cooling effect in low-rise areas compared to high-rise areas. The integrated GBI has a higher cooling intensity in high-rise areas, but slightly lower cooling potential during noon and afternoon in low-rise areas.