Cooling effect of urban parks and their relationship with urban heat islands

Urban parks, such as the Temple of Heaven Park (THP) in Beijing, exhibit a robust cooling effect that stabilizes when urban heat island (UHI) intensities remain within a defined range but becomes unstable beyond this threshold. This 'enhanced cooling effect' is characterized by stronger nighttime cooling rates and may be influenced by water coverage. The study analyzed THP alongside five other park-district pairs, revealing quasi-linear changes in UHII differences as surrounding district UHII increases. These findings suggest that urban parks play a significant but context-dependent role in mitigating urban heat, offering insights for sustainable urban planning.

YANG, P., XIAO, Z.-N., & YE, M.-S. (2016). Cooling effect of urban parks and their relationship with urban heat islands. Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters, 9(4), 298–305. https://doi.org/10.1080/16742834.2016.1191316