Urban Street Greening and Resident Comfort: An Integrated Approach Based on High-Precision Shadow Distribution and Facade Visual Assessment

Yuting Ni, Liqun Lin (), Huiqiong Xia and Xiajun Wang
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Yuting Ni: Faculty of Resources and Environmental Science, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China
Liqun Lin: Faculty of Resources and Environmental Science, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China
Huiqiong Xia: Faculty of Resources and Environmental Science, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China
Xiajun Wang: Faculty of Resources and Environmental Science, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 3, 1-21

Abstract: With the acceleration of global climate change and urbanization, the urban heat island effect has significantly impacted the quality of life of urban residents. Although numerous studies have focused on macro-scale factors such as air temperature, surface albedo, and green space coverage, relatively little attention has been paid to micro-scale factors, such as shading provided by building facades and tree canopy coverage. However, these micro-scale factors play a significant role in enhancing pedestrian thermal comfort. This study focuses on a city community in China, aiming to assess the thermal comfort of urban streets during the summer. Utilizing high-resolution 3D geographic data and street view images extracted from drone data, this study comprehensively considers the mechanisms affecting the urban street thermal environment and the human comfort requirements for shading and greening. By proposing quantitative indicators from multiple scales and dimensions, this study thoroughly quantifies the impact of the surrounding environment, greening, shading effects, buildings, and road design on the thermal comfort of summer streets. The results show that increasing tree canopy coverage by 10 m can significantly reduce the surrounding temperature, and a building layout extending 200 m can regulate temperature. The distribution of shadows at different times significantly affects thermal comfort, while the sky view factor negatively correlates with thermal comfort. Environments with a high green view index enhance visual comfort. This study reveals the specific contributions of different environmental characteristics to street thermal comfort and identifies factors that significantly impact thermal comfort. This provides a scientific basis for urban green space planning and thermal comfort improvement, holding substantial practical significance.

Keywords: city streets; thermal comfort; shading effect; UAV remote sensing data; trees and buildings (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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