Pub Date : 2026-01-13DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2026.107154
Shengnan Li , Pu Wang , Qi Liu , Ling Liu
While existing works have extensively documented vehicle emission patterns, the carbon footprint of short-distance vehicle trips (SDTs) remains critically understudied. Here, we employ large-scale License Plate Recognition data from Changsha, China to systematically analyze the emission patterns, influential factors and emission reduction potentials of SDTs. Our analysis indicates that SDTs account for 27.31 % of urban vehicle trips, and the associated CO2 emissions exhibit spatial agglomerations at specific urban areas. By leveraging an interpretable machine learning framework, we identify the land use, demographic and socioeconomic characteristics that exhibit a strong correlation with the volume of SDTs. This study emphasizes the potential to mitigate emissions induced by SDTs. It suggests that with the enhancement of public’s environmental awareness and the promotion of new energy vehicles, daily CO2 emissions caused by SDTs could reduce 172 tons, which are equivalent to 1.23 % of the total CO2 emissions of all small vehicles, providing valuable insights for developing sustainable urban transport.
{"title":"Reducing CO2 emissions from short-distance vehicle trips: A pathway to sustainable urban transport","authors":"Shengnan Li , Pu Wang , Qi Liu , Ling Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.scs.2026.107154","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scs.2026.107154","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>While existing works have extensively documented vehicle emission patterns, the carbon footprint of short-distance vehicle trips (SDTs) remains critically understudied. Here, we employ large-scale License Plate Recognition data from Changsha, China to systematically analyze the emission patterns, influential factors and emission reduction potentials of SDTs. Our analysis indicates that SDTs account for 27.31 % of urban vehicle trips, and the associated CO<sub>2</sub> emissions exhibit spatial agglomerations at specific urban areas. By leveraging an interpretable machine learning framework, we identify the land use, demographic and socioeconomic characteristics that exhibit a strong correlation with the volume of SDTs. This study emphasizes the potential to mitigate emissions induced by SDTs. It suggests that with the enhancement of public’s environmental awareness and the promotion of new energy vehicles, daily CO<sub>2</sub> emissions caused by SDTs could reduce 172 tons, which are equivalent to 1.23 % of the total CO<sub>2</sub> emissions of all small vehicles, providing valuable insights for developing sustainable urban transport.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48659,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Cities and Society","volume":"137 ","pages":"Article 107154"},"PeriodicalIF":12.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146039036","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-12DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2026.107148
Fangming Cheng , Nannan Zhao , Chang Su , Di Wang , Xiaokun Chen
With the connection and empowerment of digital intelligence technology to urban emergency management, the urban emergency management model is undergoing a process of reconstruction and transformation. However, there is currently a lack of scientific and effective capability evaluation systems and methods. This paper constructs an evaluation system comprising five first-level indicators—root-cause governance, risk prevention and control, emergency rescue and recovery, comprehensive support, and digital emergency capability—along with 14 secondary indicators and 45 tertiary indicators. It analyzes the scope of emergency management capabilities and pathways for digital intelligent empowerment. Employing an interval trapezoidal type-2 fuzzy and the matter-element extension cloud model to address subjective fuzziness, the paper establishes a comprehensive evaluation model for case analysis and improvement research. This framework and model provide support for building intelligent and agile emergency management systems.
{"title":"Research on the construction and evaluation of urban emergency management capability index system from the perspective of digital intelligence empowerment","authors":"Fangming Cheng , Nannan Zhao , Chang Su , Di Wang , Xiaokun Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.scs.2026.107148","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scs.2026.107148","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With the connection and empowerment of digital intelligence technology to urban emergency management, the urban emergency management model is undergoing a process of reconstruction and transformation. However, there is currently a lack of scientific and effective capability evaluation systems and methods. This paper constructs an evaluation system comprising five first-level indicators—root-cause governance, risk prevention and control, emergency rescue and recovery, comprehensive support, and digital emergency capability—along with 14 secondary indicators and 45 tertiary indicators. It analyzes the scope of emergency management capabilities and pathways for digital intelligent empowerment. Employing an interval trapezoidal type-2 fuzzy and the matter-element extension cloud model to address subjective fuzziness, the paper establishes a comprehensive evaluation model for case analysis and improvement research. This framework and model provide support for building intelligent and agile emergency management systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48659,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Cities and Society","volume":"137 ","pages":"Article 107148"},"PeriodicalIF":12.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146039037","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In China’s hot summer and cold winter (HSCW) area, historical policies have resulted in the absence of central heating. However, intensifying extreme weather and rising living standards recently have led to a surge in heating energy consumption, accompanied by substantial carbon emissions. This study explores the feasibility of achieving zero-carbon heating (ZCH) in the HSCW area, specifically deriving heating energy from electricity generated by photovoltaic (PV) systems. This paper first measures indoor temperature, energy consumption data, and simulates PV generation across 20 residential areas in two typical cities in the HSCW area, Wuhan and Shanghai. Then, sensitivity analysis and machine learning regression with Shapley additive explanations are conducted between 14 morphology parameters and 3 primary energy indicators: ratio of energy consumption to indoor-outdoor temperature difference, available qualified PV generation for heating energy consumption, and ratio of qualified surface area. Subsequently, the study employed multi-objective optimization to balance the energy indicators of three residential area prototypes: tower, slab, and courtyard. Analysis of measured data reveals that the openness index has the most significant influence on heating energy consumption, while facade area has the greatest impact on PV indicators. However, the trend in morphological parameters optimized for the ZCH objective varies depending on building type and plot size. Conclusively, all residential types can realize ZCH, with achievable proportions at 61.00% of slab-style, 37.30% of courtyard-style, and 18.35% of tower-style. This research proposes novel approaches for reducing carbon emissions in the HSCW high-density settlements, thus providing references for related cases.
{"title":"Exploring the patterns and optimization of high-density settlements to achieve zero-carbon heating in hot summer and cold winter area","authors":"Yuqiu Liu, Zhengnan Zhou, Yichen Han, Chaohong Wang, Yingkai Lian, Haoran Chen, Wenqi Bai, Zhuoyang Jia","doi":"10.1016/j.scs.2026.107152","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scs.2026.107152","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In China’s hot summer and cold winter (HSCW) area, historical policies have resulted in the absence of central heating. However, intensifying extreme weather and rising living standards recently have led to a surge in heating energy consumption, accompanied by substantial carbon emissions. This study explores the feasibility of achieving zero-carbon heating (ZCH) in the HSCW area, specifically deriving heating energy from electricity generated by photovoltaic (PV) systems. This paper first measures indoor temperature, energy consumption data, and simulates PV generation across 20 residential areas in two typical cities in the HSCW area, Wuhan and Shanghai. Then, sensitivity analysis and machine learning regression with Shapley additive explanations are conducted between 14 morphology parameters and 3 primary energy indicators: ratio of energy consumption to indoor-outdoor temperature difference, available qualified PV generation for heating energy consumption, and ratio of qualified surface area. Subsequently, the study employed multi-objective optimization to balance the energy indicators of three residential area prototypes: tower, slab, and courtyard. Analysis of measured data reveals that the openness index has the most significant influence on heating energy consumption, while facade area has the greatest impact on PV indicators. However, the trend in morphological parameters optimized for the ZCH objective varies depending on building type and plot size. Conclusively, all residential types can realize ZCH, with achievable proportions at 61.00% of slab-style, 37.30% of courtyard-style, and 18.35% of tower-style. This research proposes novel approaches for reducing carbon emissions in the HSCW high-density settlements, thus providing references for related cases.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48659,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Cities and Society","volume":"137 ","pages":"Article 107152"},"PeriodicalIF":12.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145980949","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-12DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2026.107149
Haojian Deng , Jiali Feng , Xi Chen , Yongzhu Xiong , Jingjing Cao , Kai Liu
The cooling effect of water bodies plays a crucial role in alleviating thermal stress in densely built urban areas. However, research on how spatial scale, configuration, and built environments regulate this cooling mechanism remains insufficient. This study adopts a local climate zone framework to classify urban built environments into four types. It examines the regulatory roles of spatial configuration, spatial scale, and built environment characteristics on the cooling effects of water bodies. Additionally, the study employs the Light Gradient Boosting Machine and Shapley Additive Explanations models to analyze the crucial factors influencing cooling effects. The main findings are as follows: (1) In terms of spatial configuration, isolated water bodies demonstrate stronger and more stable cooling effects due to fewer external disturbances and larger surface areas, with an Effective Cooling Distance Threshold (ECDT) reaching up to 400 m. However, non-isolated water bodies are generally smaller and exhibit a shorter ECDT of 350 m. Through spatial aggregation and connectivity, they can still achieve comparable cooling intensity to large isolated water bodies within the 0-150 m range. Regarding spatial scale, when the water body area exceeds 3.41 ha, its cooling intensity and diffusion capacity increase significantly. Large-scale water bodies maintain a cooling effect of 0.18 °C even at 350 m. In contrast, small-scale water bodies have limited local cooling capacity, and their effects decay rapidly with distance. (2) The built environment type significantly influences water body cooling effects. In compact, open-type, and large low-rise and impervious-surface-dominated built environment types, a higher Building area ratio (ABA) and average building volume (ABV) can produce shading effects during morning hours, enhancing the cooling effect of adjacent water bodies. (3) Within the ECDT range, the most critical regulatory factors are fractional vegetation cover, elevation, and impervious surface ratio. In contrast, the individual and interaction effects of average building height (ABH) exhibit relatively weak influences on water body cooling performance. These findings provide scientific support for understanding the thermal regulation mechanisms of blue infrastructure in dense urban environments and offer practical insights for optimizing urban climate resilience strategies.
{"title":"Regulation of water body cooling effects in dense Urban Areas: Roles of spatial configuration, spatial size, and built environment","authors":"Haojian Deng , Jiali Feng , Xi Chen , Yongzhu Xiong , Jingjing Cao , Kai Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.scs.2026.107149","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scs.2026.107149","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The cooling effect of water bodies plays a crucial role in alleviating thermal stress in densely built urban areas. However, research on how spatial scale, configuration, and built environments regulate this cooling mechanism remains insufficient. This study adopts a local climate zone framework to classify urban built environments into four types. It examines the regulatory roles of spatial configuration, spatial scale, and built environment characteristics on the cooling effects of water bodies. Additionally, the study employs the Light Gradient Boosting Machine and Shapley Additive Explanations models to analyze the crucial factors influencing cooling effects. The main findings are as follows: (1) In terms of spatial configuration, isolated water bodies demonstrate stronger and more stable cooling effects due to fewer external disturbances and larger surface areas, with an Effective Cooling Distance Threshold (ECDT) reaching up to 400 m. However, non-isolated water bodies are generally smaller and exhibit a shorter ECDT of 350 m. Through spatial aggregation and connectivity, they can still achieve comparable cooling intensity to large isolated water bodies within the 0-150 m range. Regarding spatial scale, when the water body area exceeds 3.41 ha, its cooling intensity and diffusion capacity increase significantly. Large-scale water bodies maintain a cooling effect of 0.18 °C even at 350 m. In contrast, small-scale water bodies have limited local cooling capacity, and their effects decay rapidly with distance. (2) The built environment type significantly influences water body cooling effects. In compact, open-type, and large low-rise and impervious-surface-dominated built environment types, a higher Building area ratio (ABA) and average building volume (ABV) can produce shading effects during morning hours, enhancing the cooling effect of adjacent water bodies. (3) Within the ECDT range, the most critical regulatory factors are fractional vegetation cover, elevation, and impervious surface ratio. In contrast, the individual and interaction effects of average building height (ABH) exhibit relatively weak influences on water body cooling performance. These findings provide scientific support for understanding the thermal regulation mechanisms of blue infrastructure in dense urban environments and offer practical insights for optimizing urban climate resilience strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48659,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Cities and Society","volume":"137 ","pages":"Article 107149"},"PeriodicalIF":12.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145980212","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-11DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2026.107150
Pengcheng Liu , Xu Li , Haitian Lu , Li Yan
Global warming and loss of regional cultural expression present dual challenges. A research gap persists: the passive, low-energy experience of traditional settlements remains untransformed into quantifiable design guidelines. This study focused on typical traditional settlements in Chongqing, China (a hot-summer and cold-winter region). It adopted an integrated "street-house" system perspective to analyse how spatial elements influence wind and thermal environmental performance, and distilled climate-adaptive spatial form characteristics and rules to provide operable guidance for climate-adaptive urban design. First, a literature review and field surveys identified the spatial elements for subsequent quantitative analysis. Second, the study used a combined approach of orthogonal/full factorial experiments and numerical simulations to quantify contribution rates, nonlinear relationships, and interaction effects of selected spatial elements on wind and thermal environmental performance, laying a foundation for spatial pattern formulation. Results indicated street orientation dominated the wind environment (contribution rates of 76.7% for street and 98.7% for building) and height-to-width ratio dominated the thermal environment (55.1% and 66.4% for street and building, respectively). Second-floor cantilevered balconies and eaves also significantly affected the thermal environment. The wind environment exhibited two significant interaction effects: street orientation × through-flow doors and windows, and street height-to-width ratio × eaves width. The thermal environment had no significant interaction effects. The study further analysed contradictory and synergistic characteristics of spatial morphological elements in climate adaptation, extracting patterns addressing summer and winter needs. These findings deepened understanding of climate adaptability in traditional settlements, and provided quantitative basis and pattern references for climate-adaptive urban planning.
{"title":"Spatial patterns and climate adaptation mechanisms of street-house systems in Chongqing traditional settlements","authors":"Pengcheng Liu , Xu Li , Haitian Lu , Li Yan","doi":"10.1016/j.scs.2026.107150","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scs.2026.107150","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Global warming and loss of regional cultural expression present dual challenges. A research gap persists: the passive, low-energy experience of traditional settlements remains untransformed into quantifiable design guidelines. This study focused on typical traditional settlements in Chongqing, China (a hot-summer and cold-winter region). It adopted an integrated \"street-house\" system perspective to analyse how spatial elements influence wind and thermal environmental performance, and distilled climate-adaptive spatial form characteristics and rules to provide operable guidance for climate-adaptive urban design. First, a literature review and field surveys identified the spatial elements for subsequent quantitative analysis. Second, the study used a combined approach of orthogonal/full factorial experiments and numerical simulations to quantify contribution rates, nonlinear relationships, and interaction effects of selected spatial elements on wind and thermal environmental performance, laying a foundation for spatial pattern formulation. Results indicated street orientation dominated the wind environment (contribution rates of 76.7% for street and 98.7% for building) and height-to-width ratio dominated the thermal environment (55.1% and 66.4% for street and building, respectively). Second-floor cantilevered balconies and eaves also significantly affected the thermal environment. The wind environment exhibited two significant interaction effects: street orientation × through-flow doors and windows, and street height-to-width ratio × eaves width. The thermal environment had no significant interaction effects. The study further analysed contradictory and synergistic characteristics of spatial morphological elements in climate adaptation, extracting patterns addressing summer and winter needs. These findings deepened understanding of climate adaptability in traditional settlements, and provided quantitative basis and pattern references for climate-adaptive urban planning.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48659,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Cities and Society","volume":"137 ","pages":"Article 107150"},"PeriodicalIF":12.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145980777","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-11DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2026.107151
Yujie Li , Jingfu Cao , Mingcai Li , Song Jiang , Jie Yang , Rui Xin , Ping Qu , Jing Chen , Jing Wang
River-sea dual-core cities exhibit marked climatic disparities between coastal and inland zones. A comprehensive analysis is therefore needed to reveal how urban form, geography, and industry jointly shape heat stress. Taking Tianjin as a representative case, this study employs an integrated approach that combines multi-source remote sensing, field surveys, and a dense meteorological station network to develop a practical assessment framework for these complex thermal dynamics. Our findings reveal three distinct thermal regimes governed by different mechanisms: compact urban cores experience intense dry heat driven by building density; coastal areas face significant humid heat stress due to marine influence and sea breeze dynamics; and specialized industrial zones create thermal anomalies that transcend conventional local climate zone (LCZ) classifications. The research demonstrates that while LCZ framework captures urban morphological variations, it requires substantial refinement to incorporate geographical context and industrial processes. Notably, our case study of the Wangkou industrial cluster shows that intensive energy consumption generates an average anthropogenic heat flux of 6.7–8.9 W/m2, substantially reshaping local microclimates. This pattern challenges conventional urban classification systems. In response to these distinct thermal regimes, we recommend implementing zonal mitigation strategies, including cool infrastructure in urban cores, ventilation corridors in coastal areas, and specialized thermal regulations for industrial zones. This study proposes a transferable framework for assessing urban heat risks and offers scientific support for spatially-optimized, climate-resilient planning in similar cities globally.
{"title":"Anthropogenic heat amplification in industrial zones: Unraveling heat stress risk heterogeneity in river-sea dual-core cities","authors":"Yujie Li , Jingfu Cao , Mingcai Li , Song Jiang , Jie Yang , Rui Xin , Ping Qu , Jing Chen , Jing Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.scs.2026.107151","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scs.2026.107151","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>River-sea dual-core cities exhibit marked climatic disparities between coastal and inland zones. A comprehensive analysis is therefore needed to reveal how urban form, geography, and industry jointly shape heat stress. Taking Tianjin as a representative case, this study employs an integrated approach that combines multi-source remote sensing, field surveys, and a dense meteorological station network to develop a practical assessment framework for these complex thermal dynamics. Our findings reveal three distinct thermal regimes governed by different mechanisms: compact urban cores experience intense dry heat driven by building density; coastal areas face significant humid heat stress due to marine influence and sea breeze dynamics; and specialized industrial zones create thermal anomalies that transcend conventional local climate zone (LCZ) classifications. The research demonstrates that while LCZ framework captures urban morphological variations, it requires substantial refinement to incorporate geographical context and industrial processes. Notably, our case study of the Wangkou industrial cluster shows that intensive energy consumption generates an average anthropogenic heat flux of 6.7<strong>–</strong>8.9 W/m<sup>2</sup>, substantially reshaping local microclimates. This pattern challenges conventional urban classification systems. In response to these distinct thermal regimes, we recommend implementing zonal mitigation strategies, including cool infrastructure in urban cores, ventilation corridors in coastal areas, and specialized thermal regulations for industrial zones. This study proposes a transferable framework for assessing urban heat risks and offers scientific support for spatially-optimized, climate-resilient planning in similar cities globally.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48659,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Cities and Society","volume":"137 ","pages":"Article 107151"},"PeriodicalIF":12.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145980947","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-11DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2026.107153
Ji Yoon Bae , Eric Teitelbaum , Sara F. Jacoby , Dorit Aviv
The increasing frequency of heatwaves and the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect pose growing public health risks, particularly for urban communities with limited access to cooling infrastructure. Conventional strategies—such as air-conditioned cooling centers—present challenges related to energy consumption, resilience, and equitable access. In response, we developed and tested a novel, open-air cooling shelter that can be installed as public infrastructure such as bus stops, designed to mitigate heat stress through solar-powered radiant and conductive cooling systems. Constructed in partnership with a community organization in a heat-vulnerable Philadelphia neighborhood, the shelter integrates a shading canopy, radiant cooling panels, and a conductive cooling bench, all operated by a fully off-grid renewable energy source. To examine its impact, we conducted thermal comfort surveys with community members as well as physiological and environmental measurements. Results showed that the shelter reduced occupants’ thermal stress by 35–45% compared to unshaded outdoor conditions using the Index of Thermal Stress (ITS), and subjective survey responses corroborated this improvement. Concurrently, energy monitoring validated the system’s self-sufficiency; solar energy generation surpassed the cooling demand by 40%. The combination of scalable technology and integrated local engagement, as modeled in this study, offers a replicable strategy for sustainable and inclusive urban heat mitigation.
{"title":"Community-based solar-powered and open-air cooling shelter for urban heat mitigation","authors":"Ji Yoon Bae , Eric Teitelbaum , Sara F. Jacoby , Dorit Aviv","doi":"10.1016/j.scs.2026.107153","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scs.2026.107153","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The increasing frequency of heatwaves and the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect pose growing public health risks, particularly for urban communities with limited access to cooling infrastructure. Conventional strategies—such as air-conditioned cooling centers—present challenges related to energy consumption, resilience, and equitable access. In response, we developed and tested a novel, open-air cooling shelter that can be installed as public infrastructure such as bus stops, designed to mitigate heat stress through solar-powered radiant and conductive cooling systems. Constructed in partnership with a community organization in a heat-vulnerable Philadelphia neighborhood, the shelter integrates a shading canopy, radiant cooling panels, and a conductive cooling bench, all operated by a fully off-grid renewable energy source. To examine its impact, we conducted thermal comfort surveys with community members as well as physiological and environmental measurements. Results showed that the shelter reduced occupants’ thermal stress by 35–45% compared to unshaded outdoor conditions using the Index of Thermal Stress (ITS), and subjective survey responses corroborated this improvement. Concurrently, energy monitoring validated the system’s self-sufficiency; solar energy generation surpassed the cooling demand by 40%. The combination of scalable technology and integrated local engagement, as modeled in this study, offers a replicable strategy for sustainable and inclusive urban heat mitigation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48659,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Cities and Society","volume":"137 ","pages":"Article 107153"},"PeriodicalIF":12.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145980142","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-10DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2026.107146
Jinchen Wang , Yan Sun , Qiping Lu , Qi Yang
Rapid urbanisation and global warming have intensified the frequency and severity of extreme heat events (EHEs), posing substantial challenges in urban areas. The urban park cool island effect (PCI) could aid in the mitigation of and adaptation to EHEs. However, its cooling intensity and underlying mechanisms in metropolitan regions under different heat extremes are unclear. To address this, we quantitatively assessed the PCI effect between EHEs and non-EHEs of two summer periods and identified universal PCI pathways. PCI effects were quantified across 109 urban parks within the Fifth Ring Road of Beijing using the equal radius and turning point methods. We then employed structural equation modelling (SEM) to elucidate the causal pathways among various factors during EHEs and non-EHEs. We found that: (1) the PCI of 109 urban parks was significantly stronger during EHEs than during non-EHEs, with PCI intensity varying from 0 to 10 °C, and the PCI exhibiting spatial heterogeneity along the urban–rural gradient; (2) urban park cooling service followed universal pathways between different EHE periods (June 2021 and July 2022) and present different pattern from four non-EHE periods.; (3) the differences between the SEM models were primarily driven by external impervious surfaces, vegetation cover, and three-dimensional building height in the park surrounding areas. This study not only reveals the PCI potentials under different heat extremes, but also deepens our understanding of PCI pathways, providing methodological and theoretical references for urban park extremes-adaptation planning and construction.
{"title":"From cooling pathways to practical acclimating design: Urban park regulating potentials under Extreme Heat Events","authors":"Jinchen Wang , Yan Sun , Qiping Lu , Qi Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.scs.2026.107146","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scs.2026.107146","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rapid urbanisation and global warming have intensified the frequency and severity of extreme heat events (EHEs), posing substantial challenges in urban areas. The urban park cool island effect (PCI) could aid in the mitigation of and adaptation to EHEs. However, its cooling intensity and underlying mechanisms in metropolitan regions under different heat extremes are unclear. To address this, we quantitatively assessed the PCI effect between EHEs and non-EHEs of two summer periods and identified universal PCI pathways. PCI effects were quantified across 109 urban parks within the Fifth Ring Road of Beijing using the equal radius and turning point methods. We then employed structural equation modelling (SEM) to elucidate the causal pathways among various factors during EHEs and non-EHEs. We found that: (1) the PCI of 109 urban parks was significantly stronger during EHEs than during non-EHEs, with PCI intensity varying from 0 to 10 °C, and the PCI exhibiting spatial heterogeneity along the urban–rural gradient; (2) urban park cooling service followed universal pathways between different EHE periods (June 2021 and July 2022) and present different pattern from four non-EHE periods.; (3) the differences between the SEM models were primarily driven by external impervious surfaces, vegetation cover, and three-dimensional building height in the park surrounding areas. This study not only reveals the PCI potentials under different heat extremes, but also deepens our understanding of PCI pathways, providing methodological and theoretical references for urban park extremes-adaptation planning and construction.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48659,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Cities and Society","volume":"137 ","pages":"Article 107146"},"PeriodicalIF":12.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145980141","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-10DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2026.107147
Jiajian He , Yihang Lu , Yanming Kang , Yuqian Gu , Ke Zhong , Yiqi Wang
Rapid urbanization has intensified traffic-related air pollution in street networks, particularly in coastal cities frequently affected by mesoscale sea-land breeze (SLB) circulations. Conventional air-quality assessments commonly adopt simplified steady-state ‘prevailing wind’ assumptions, failing to capture the dynamic and diurnal evolution of SLB circulations. This methodological simplification can weaken the effectiveness of pollution-mitigation strategies or even make them counterproductive. To address this limitation, a high-temporal-resolution WRF-CFD coupled model is employed to integrate time-evolving SLB meteorological fields with time-varying traffic emissions, assessing the pollutant dispersion under the SLB and summer prevailing wind (SPW) conditions. The results show that under SLB conditions, street-level pollutant concentrations become decoupled from traffic emission patterns, exhibiting opposing trends during morning and evening rush hours compared to the predictable behavior under SPW. Weak morning land breezes hinder pollutant dispersion, increasing concentrations by 1.4 times compared to SPW, whereas strong evening sea breezes enhance ventilation, reducing concentrations by 43 %. Moreover, the midday collision of sea and land breezes generates a low-ventilation ‘convergence zone’, causing severe pollution episodes even during off-peak traffic hours. During this convergence period, the average pollution concentration under SLB is over 1.4 times higher than during SPW, with peak concentrations reaching nearly twice those of SPW. Although daily average concentrations are similar under both weather conditions, the SLB-induced convergence effect can cause short-term rapid pollutant accumulation, significantly amplifying pedestrian exposure risks. Consequently, for air quality assessment in coastal cities, the main findings show that SLB-induced meteorological dynamics (e.g., the midday convergence) can be a more critical determinant of acute pollution events than traffic volume itself, challenging the conventional prevailing steady-state assumption. The developed framework also provides an essential tool for designing meteorology-responsive dynamic traffic management and street-level air quality alert systems, enabling targeted control strategies under different weather conditions to reduce exposure risks.
{"title":"Coastal city pollution from time-varying traffic emissions: A high-resolution WRF-CFD comparison of dynamic sea-land breeze and static prevailing wind","authors":"Jiajian He , Yihang Lu , Yanming Kang , Yuqian Gu , Ke Zhong , Yiqi Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.scs.2026.107147","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scs.2026.107147","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rapid urbanization has intensified traffic-related air pollution in street networks, particularly in coastal cities frequently affected by mesoscale sea-land breeze (SLB) circulations. Conventional air-quality assessments commonly adopt simplified steady-state ‘prevailing wind’ assumptions, failing to capture the dynamic and diurnal evolution of SLB circulations. This methodological simplification can weaken the effectiveness of pollution-mitigation strategies or even make them counterproductive. To address this limitation, a high-temporal-resolution WRF-CFD coupled model is employed to integrate time-evolving SLB meteorological fields with time-varying traffic emissions, assessing the pollutant dispersion under the SLB and summer prevailing wind (SPW) conditions. The results show that under SLB conditions, street-level pollutant concentrations become decoupled from traffic emission patterns, exhibiting opposing trends during morning and evening rush hours compared to the predictable behavior under SPW. Weak morning land breezes hinder pollutant dispersion, increasing concentrations by 1.4 times compared to SPW, whereas strong evening sea breezes enhance ventilation, reducing concentrations by 43 %. Moreover, the midday collision of sea and land breezes generates a low-ventilation ‘convergence zone’, causing severe pollution episodes even during off-peak traffic hours. During this convergence period, the average pollution concentration under SLB is over 1.4 times higher than during SPW, with peak concentrations reaching nearly twice those of SPW. Although daily average concentrations are similar under both weather conditions, the SLB-induced convergence effect can cause short-term rapid pollutant accumulation, significantly amplifying pedestrian exposure risks. Consequently, for air quality assessment in coastal cities, the main findings show that SLB-induced meteorological dynamics (e.g., the midday convergence) can be a more critical determinant of acute pollution events than traffic volume itself, challenging the conventional prevailing steady-state assumption. The developed framework also provides an essential tool for designing meteorology-responsive dynamic traffic management and street-level air quality alert systems, enabling targeted control strategies under different weather conditions to reduce exposure risks.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48659,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Cities and Society","volume":"137 ","pages":"Article 107147"},"PeriodicalIF":12.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146039042","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-10DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2026.107145
Negar Rahmatollahi , Zhi-Hua Wang , Yihang Wang , Xueli Yang
Exacerbated thermal environment is one of the most critical challenges in urban development, which causes degradation of air quality, environmental health, and ecosystem services. While there are many existing studies of attributing urban heat to various environmental factors, the underlying causal relationship explainable by these contributors remains largely underexplored. In this study, we conducted machine learning (ML) attribution of urban heat (measured by the land surface temperature LST) to two broad categories of contributors, viz. (a) local landscape characteristics (surface albedo, vegetation coverage, building density, and measure of anthropogenic activities) and (b) meteorological conditions (precipitation, humidity, wind, pressure, solar radiation, and soil moisture), using the Phoenix metropolitan, AZ as a testbed. Furthermore, we quantified the underlying causation between these environmental factors and LST using convergent cross mapping (CCM). It was found that solar radiation and vegetation coverage (NDVI) are the two most important determinants, both statistically and causally, of urban thermal environment. We also identified the impact of water content variables (precipitation, humidity, and soil moisture) that is not captured by ML attribution but emerges as causally significant. These findings help to deepen our understanding of the underlying mechanism that regulates the urban heat and its complex interplay with other environmental factors, which, in turn, will be informative to sustainable urban planning practices.
{"title":"Machine learning and causal attribution of urban heat in the Phoenix metropolitan","authors":"Negar Rahmatollahi , Zhi-Hua Wang , Yihang Wang , Xueli Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.scs.2026.107145","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scs.2026.107145","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Exacerbated thermal environment is one of the most critical challenges in urban development, which causes degradation of air quality, environmental health, and ecosystem services. While there are many existing studies of attributing urban heat to various environmental factors, the underlying causal relationship explainable by these contributors remains largely underexplored. In this study, we conducted machine learning (ML) attribution of urban heat (measured by the land surface temperature LST) to two broad categories of contributors, viz. (a) local landscape characteristics (surface albedo, vegetation coverage, building density, and measure of anthropogenic activities) and (b) meteorological conditions (precipitation, humidity, wind, pressure, solar radiation, and soil moisture), using the Phoenix metropolitan, AZ as a testbed. Furthermore, we quantified the underlying causation between these environmental factors and LST using convergent cross mapping (CCM). It was found that solar radiation and vegetation coverage (NDVI) are the two most important determinants, both statistically and causally, of urban thermal environment. We also identified the impact of water content variables (precipitation, humidity, and soil moisture) that is not captured by ML attribution but emerges as causally significant. These findings help to deepen our understanding of the underlying mechanism that regulates the urban heat and its complex interplay with other environmental factors, which, in turn, will be informative to sustainable urban planning practices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48659,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Cities and Society","volume":"137 ","pages":"Article 107145"},"PeriodicalIF":12.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145980782","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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