Pub Date : 2025-06-30DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105450
Rut Romero-Martín , Herminia Valdemoro , José A Jiménez
The Catalan coast, located in the NW Mediterranean (Spain), is a highly urbanized area facing a considerable risk of coastal squeeze due to extensive urban development, coastal dynamics, and a generally retreating shoreline. Given these factors, implementing adaptation measures is essential to mitigate both present and future impacts. Among the available measures, those creating open space are particularly beneficial for long-term sustainability, as they help reduce coastal impacts while offering additional benefits, such as boosting biodiversity and supporting coastal ecosystems. This study presents a framework for managed retreat planning that estimates the inland accommodation space needed for beach reconstruction in response to erosion at multiple scales. The framework, tailored to typical Mediterranean conditions, is applied to the Catalan coast under various climate scenarios at projected time horizons. Results indicate that a substantial portion of the Catalonia’s sedimentary coastline may eventually require setbacks that exceed current legal boundaries (the Maritime Terrestrial Public Domain). This finding suggests that current delineations, especially in areas of severe erosion, may become obsolete in the near future.
{"title":"Unveiling coastal adaptation demands: Exploring erosion-induced spatial imperatives on the Catalan Coast (NW Mediterranean)","authors":"Rut Romero-Martín , Herminia Valdemoro , José A Jiménez","doi":"10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105450","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105450","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Catalan coast, located in the NW Mediterranean (Spain), is a highly urbanized area facing a considerable risk of coastal squeeze due to extensive urban development, coastal dynamics, and a generally retreating shoreline. Given these factors, implementing adaptation measures is essential to mitigate both present and future impacts. Among the available measures, those creating open space are particularly beneficial for long-term sustainability, as they help reduce coastal impacts while offering additional benefits, such as boosting biodiversity and supporting coastal ecosystems. This study presents a framework for managed retreat planning that estimates the inland accommodation space needed for beach reconstruction in response to erosion at multiple scales. The framework, tailored to typical Mediterranean conditions, is applied to the Catalan coast under various climate scenarios at projected time horizons. Results indicate that a substantial portion of the Catalonia’s sedimentary coastline may eventually require setbacks that exceed current legal boundaries (the Maritime Terrestrial Public Domain). This finding suggests that current delineations, especially in areas of severe erosion, may become obsolete in the near future.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54744,"journal":{"name":"Landscape and Urban Planning","volume":"263 ","pages":"Article 105450"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144519152","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-27DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105424
S. Morgan Hughey , Heather Zeidler , Kendra Stewart , Lesley Leake , Jennifer Yip , Valerie Friedmann
Municipal policy can address disparities in equitable access to quality parks, but currently, no tools are available to systematically identify such policies, and little research shows the prevalence and distribution of policies across cities. This research aimed to 1) validate a policy scan data collection tool, 2) describe the prevalence of park access policies by categories, and 3) analyze demographic and geographic trends in a U.S. city sample. The policy scan tool was piloted in 25 U.S. cities and captured municipal park access policies in the following categories: Parks Needs Assessment, Community Engagement, Public Funding, Shared Use Agreements, Maintenance, Land Use and Development, Connectivity, and Anti-Displacement. Specific policy mechanisms within policy categories were also defined. Key informant interviews confirmed that the policy scan tool detected park access policies (83–100 % accuracy rate). Cities most often had at least one policy in Connectivity (n = 24; 96 %), Land Use and Development (n = 21;84 %), and Public Funding (n = 18;72 %). Land Use and Development and Anti-Displacement were most commonly found in codes of ordinances, while Public Funding and Shared Use were typically identified in standalone policies, such as resolutions, executive orders, or multi-agency agreements. Cities in the West and South regions had a significantly greater number of policies compared to those in the Northeast region. This study reveals what types of policies cities across the U.S. are using to increase access to parks and green space, further highlighting the need for policy implementation and outcome research related to parks and green space access and equity.
{"title":"Advancing equitable park access: a policy scan of 25 U.S. cities","authors":"S. Morgan Hughey , Heather Zeidler , Kendra Stewart , Lesley Leake , Jennifer Yip , Valerie Friedmann","doi":"10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105424","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105424","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Municipal policy can address disparities in equitable access to quality parks, but currently, no tools are available to systematically identify such policies, and little research shows the prevalence and distribution of policies across cities. This research aimed to 1) validate a policy scan data collection tool, 2) describe the prevalence of park access policies by categories, and 3) analyze demographic and geographic trends in a U.S. city sample. The policy scan tool was piloted in 25 U.S. cities and captured municipal park access policies in the following categories: Parks Needs Assessment, Community Engagement, Public Funding, Shared Use Agreements, Maintenance, Land Use and Development, Connectivity, and Anti-Displacement. Specific policy mechanisms within policy categories were also defined. Key informant interviews confirmed that the policy scan tool detected park access policies (83–100 % accuracy rate). Cities most often had at least one policy in Connectivity (n = 24; 96 %), Land Use and Development (n = 21;84 %), and Public Funding (n = 18;72 %). Land Use and Development and Anti-Displacement were most commonly found in codes of ordinances, while Public Funding and Shared Use were typically identified in standalone policies, such as resolutions, executive orders, or multi-agency agreements. Cities in the West and South regions had a significantly greater number of policies compared to those in the Northeast region. This study reveals what types of policies cities across the U.S. are using to increase access to parks and green space, further highlighting the need for policy implementation and outcome research related to parks and green space access and equity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54744,"journal":{"name":"Landscape and Urban Planning","volume":"263 ","pages":"Article 105424"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144502379","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-26DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105446
Solène Guenat, Nicole Bauer
Anthropogenic light is omnipresent in the landscape with recognised negative impacts on natural environments and public health. Current absence of light pollution mitigation is driven by limited understanding of citizens’ perceptions (feeling of safety, awareness of impact, support for mitigation measures). We used a stratified survey to explore the impact of residing in regions with different sky brightness levels on the perception of anthropogenic light. Brightness levels were perceived as satisfactory, despite most recognising negative impacts. Respondents who lived or grew up in high-sky brightness regions were more likely to feel unsafe and to perceive anthropogenic light as beneficial for nature and health. Support for technological mitigation measures and awareness campaigns was high, but support for shorter illumination time was higher in areas with lower sky brightness. Changing perceptions of anthropogenic light in regions of high sky brightness will be critical to mitigate light pollution, requiring concerted actions mixing information campaigns focusing on health impacts and technological solutions to decrease the duration of light emissions.
{"title":"Living in regions of high anthropogenic night sky brightness (skyglow) decreases the recognition of light as a pollutant","authors":"Solène Guenat, Nicole Bauer","doi":"10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105446","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105446","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Anthropogenic light is omnipresent in the landscape with recognised negative impacts on natural environments and public health. Current absence of light pollution mitigation is driven by limited understanding of citizens’ perceptions (feeling of safety, awareness of impact, support for mitigation measures). We used a stratified survey to explore the impact of residing in regions with different sky brightness levels on the perception of anthropogenic light. Brightness levels were perceived as satisfactory, despite most recognising negative impacts. Respondents who lived or grew up in high-sky brightness regions were more likely to feel unsafe and to perceive anthropogenic light as beneficial for nature and health. Support for technological mitigation measures and awareness campaigns was high, but support for shorter illumination time was higher in areas with lower sky brightness. Changing perceptions of anthropogenic light in regions of high sky brightness will be critical to mitigate light pollution, requiring concerted actions mixing information campaigns focusing on health impacts and technological solutions to decrease the duration of light emissions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54744,"journal":{"name":"Landscape and Urban Planning","volume":"263 ","pages":"Article 105446"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144491941","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-24DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105445
Allison Killea , Jeremy Baynes , Donald Ebert , Anne Neale
{"title":"Measuring access to and availability of outdoor recreational opportunities: One pixel at a time","authors":"Allison Killea , Jeremy Baynes , Donald Ebert , Anne Neale","doi":"10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105445","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105445","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":54744,"journal":{"name":"Landscape and Urban Planning","volume":"263 ","pages":"Article 105445"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144365948","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-22DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105425
Andreea Raluca Slave , Ana Maria Popa , Diana Andreea Onose , Blal Adem Esmail , Christian Albert , Constantina Alina Hossu , Ioan-Cristian Iojă , Simona R. Gradinaru
In Europe, strategic spatial planning is increasingly recognized as a public-sector-led approach that brings together multiple actors in collaborative settings to build long-term visions for urban development. Despite the growing importance of urban green spaces (UGS) in fostering sustainable and liveable cities, systematic longitudinal and comparative analyses of UGS integration into strategic urban plans remain scarce. Drawing on established normative criteria for “good” strategic plans and evidence from practice, we propose an evaluation framework to assess the communication-oriented, evidence-based, action-oriented, collaborative and adaptive dimensions of plans. We apply the framework to three generations of strategic plans from 18 Romanian cities. Our results indicate that, while UGS are frequently mentioned, their integration into actionable strategies is inconsistent. We observe, however, a positive trend in the incorporation of UGS into successive plan iterations. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to use a longitudinal research design to systematically assess changes in the quality of strategic urban plans, with a particular focus on UGS. We discuss our framework and findings in the context of broader debates about the nature of strategic planning and the mainstreaming of environmental aspects into strategic plans. Applying the framework in different countries and planning contexts could assess its transferability and reveal how institutional arrangements, planning traditions, and socio-political environments influence the quality of strategic plans over time.
{"title":"Evaluating trends in the consideration of urban green spaces in strategic spatial planning: Insights from Romania","authors":"Andreea Raluca Slave , Ana Maria Popa , Diana Andreea Onose , Blal Adem Esmail , Christian Albert , Constantina Alina Hossu , Ioan-Cristian Iojă , Simona R. Gradinaru","doi":"10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105425","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105425","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In Europe, strategic spatial planning is increasingly recognized as a public-sector-led approach that brings together multiple actors in collaborative settings to build long-term visions for urban development. Despite the growing importance of urban green spaces (UGS) in fostering sustainable and liveable cities, systematic longitudinal and comparative analyses of UGS integration into strategic urban plans remain scarce. Drawing on established normative criteria for “good” strategic plans and evidence from practice, we propose an evaluation framework to assess the <em>communication-oriented</em>, <em>evidence-based</em>, <em>action-oriented, collaborative</em> and <em>adaptive</em> dimensions of plans. We apply the framework to three generations of strategic plans from 18 Romanian cities. Our results indicate that, while UGS are frequently mentioned, their integration into actionable strategies is inconsistent. We observe, however, a positive trend in the incorporation of UGS into successive plan iterations. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to use a longitudinal research design to systematically assess changes in the quality of strategic urban plans, with a particular focus on UGS. We discuss our framework and findings in the context of broader debates about the nature of strategic planning and the mainstreaming of environmental aspects into strategic plans. Applying the framework in different countries and planning contexts could assess its transferability and reveal how institutional arrangements, planning traditions, and socio-political environments influence the quality of strategic plans over time.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54744,"journal":{"name":"Landscape and Urban Planning","volume":"263 ","pages":"Article 105425"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144335672","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-20DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105444
Linsen Wang , Mei-Po Kwan
While growing attention has been paid to audio-visual interactions, the findings on the role of greenery exposure in noise perception are inconsistent. The inconsistent conclusions may stem from the uncertain geographic context problem. Building on two distinct mechanisms identified in past studies (i.e., restorative and masking effects and the audio-visual congruency effect), this study aims to unveil how greenery exposure influences noise perception across geographic contexts. Employing portable devices and subjective sensing tools, we collect people’s real-time sound exposure, greenery exposure, and noise perception during their real-life contexts. Subsequently, interpretable machine learning methods are used to investigate the global and local effects of greenery exposure on noise perception. The results include: i) a significant and positive association between real-time sound level and perceived noise level was observed, with greenery exposure significantly moderating the association; ii) notable non-linearity in such relationships was also identified, with consistent sound level and greenery exposure thresholds across geographic contexts. While the restorative and masking effects dominate, their magnitudes vary, and the audio-visual congruency effect can be identified locally. The prevalence of the two distinct mechanisms is associated with specific urban functional contexts. The findings can serve as scientific references for policymakers on noise governance and greenery design.
{"title":"How greenery exposure influences noise perception across geographic contexts","authors":"Linsen Wang , Mei-Po Kwan","doi":"10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105444","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105444","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>While growing attention has been paid to audio-visual interactions, the findings on the role of greenery exposure in noise perception are inconsistent. The inconsistent conclusions may stem from the uncertain geographic context problem. Building on two distinct mechanisms identified in past studies (i.e., restorative and masking effects and the audio-visual congruency effect), this study aims to unveil how greenery exposure influences noise perception across geographic contexts. Employing portable devices and subjective sensing tools, we collect people’s real-time sound exposure, greenery exposure, and noise perception during their real-life contexts. Subsequently, interpretable machine learning methods are used to investigate the global and local effects of greenery exposure on noise perception. The results include: i) a significant and positive association between real-time sound level and perceived noise level was observed, with greenery exposure significantly moderating the association; ii) notable non-linearity in such relationships was also identified, with consistent sound level and greenery exposure thresholds across geographic contexts. While the restorative and masking effects dominate, their magnitudes vary, and the audio-visual congruency effect can be identified locally. The prevalence of the two distinct mechanisms is associated with specific urban functional contexts. The findings can serve as scientific references for policymakers on noise governance and greenery design.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54744,"journal":{"name":"Landscape and Urban Planning","volume":"263 ","pages":"Article 105444"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144321955","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-18DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105442
Chenglong Zeng , Yao Yao , Jiayao Liu , Zhenhui Sun , Kun Zhou , Dongsheng Chen , Qingfeng Guan
Urban agglomerations, as complex systems, exhibit co-evolutionary and cooperative effects in land use, population, and economic development. Precisely simulating the dynamic changes of these development factors at the urban agglomeration scale is crucial for formulating effective urban development policies. This study proposes a spatial cooperative simulation and future prediction framework: CoCA, using the Wuhan metropolitan area as a case study. The CoCA framework integrates a patch-generating land use model and a density model based on an S-curve algorithm, employing a dynamic update strategy for driving factors to achieve multi-factor spatial cooperative simulation of land, population, and economy. Compared to traditional single-factor simulations, the CoCA model shows a significant improvement in simulation accuracy. Measuring land use accuracy with Figure-of-Merit (FoM) reached 0.239, enhancing the accuracy by 35%. Meanwhile, the accuracy of population and economic density simulations, assessed using Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), improved by 38%, with values of 20.19% and 29.59%, respectively. By forecasting future land use patterns in the Wuhan metropolitan area for 2030 under various policy scenarios, this framework further explores the interaction mechanisms among land use change, population growth, and economic development. The CoCA model shows the ability to simulate future urban patterns under different scenarios by considering multiple factors, thereby providing effective supports support to policy makers in promoting balanced plans for sustainable urban growth.
{"title":"CoCA: Spatial cooperative simulation and future prediction of “land-population-economy” in urban agglomerations","authors":"Chenglong Zeng , Yao Yao , Jiayao Liu , Zhenhui Sun , Kun Zhou , Dongsheng Chen , Qingfeng Guan","doi":"10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105442","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105442","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Urban agglomerations, as complex systems, exhibit co-evolutionary and cooperative effects in land use, population, and economic development. Precisely simulating the dynamic changes of these development factors at the urban agglomeration scale is crucial for formulating effective urban development policies. This study proposes a spatial cooperative simulation and future prediction framework: CoCA, using the Wuhan metropolitan area as a case study. The CoCA framework integrates a patch-generating land use model and a density model based on an S-curve algorithm, employing a dynamic update strategy for driving factors to achieve multi-factor spatial cooperative simulation of land, population, and economy. Compared to traditional single-factor simulations, the CoCA model shows a significant improvement in simulation accuracy. Measuring land use accuracy with Figure-of-Merit (FoM) reached 0.239, enhancing the accuracy by 35%. Meanwhile, the accuracy of population and economic density simulations, assessed using Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), improved by 38%, with values of 20.19% and 29.59%, respectively. By forecasting future land use patterns in the Wuhan metropolitan area for 2030 under various policy scenarios, this framework further explores the interaction mechanisms among land use change, population growth, and economic development. The CoCA model shows the ability to simulate future urban patterns under different scenarios by considering multiple factors, thereby providing effective supports support to policy makers in promoting balanced plans for sustainable urban growth.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54744,"journal":{"name":"Landscape and Urban Planning","volume":"263 ","pages":"Article 105442"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144306365","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-16DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105443
Christopher L. Ambrey , Renee Zahnow
This study replicates and builds on earlier work by Høj et al. (2021) conducted in Montreal, Canada, to examine the extent to which residing in close proximity to open public spaces can buffer psychological distress using survey data from Melbourne, Australia. We find that proximity to public open space is negatively associated with psychological distress with stronger effects evident among participants who have experienced an adverse life event or where proximate open space is ‘natural or semi-natural’, compared to maintained (for example sports fields, civic squares). Our results align with those of Høj et al. (2021) and provide support for the stress buffering potential of open spaces. While the findings are modest in terms of absolute effect sizes, they demonstrate that natural public open spaces may provide an effective refuge for people experiencing an adverse life event and highlight the importance of ensuring natural open spaces are a central consideration of residential developments.
{"title":"Public open space, adverse live events and psychological distress in Melbourne, Australia","authors":"Christopher L. Ambrey , Renee Zahnow","doi":"10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105443","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105443","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study replicates and builds on earlier work by Høj et al. (2021) conducted in Montreal, Canada, to examine the extent to which residing in close proximity to open public spaces can buffer psychological distress using survey data from Melbourne, Australia. We find that proximity to public open space is negatively associated with psychological distress with stronger effects evident among participants who have experienced an adverse life event or where proximate open space is ‘natural or semi-natural’, compared to maintained (for example sports fields, civic squares). Our results align with those of Høj et al. (2021) and provide support for the stress buffering potential of open spaces. While the findings are modest in terms of absolute effect sizes, they demonstrate that natural public open spaces may provide an effective refuge for people experiencing an adverse life event and highlight the importance of ensuring natural open spaces are a central consideration of residential developments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54744,"journal":{"name":"Landscape and Urban Planning","volume":"263 ","pages":"Article 105443"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144297060","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-14DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105436
Yu-Ying Wei, Ching-Yin Cheng, Tzu-Ping Lin
With the intensification of global warming and the urban heat island effect, vegetation plays a crucial role in shading and cooling urban spaces. The extensive planting of trees not only contributes to urban cooling but also enhances human thermal comfort by providing shade. Implementing government policies and regulations is an effective strategy for promoting urban greenery. However, Taiwan currently lacks a comprehensive database and assessment methodology for evaluating tree shading capacity, making it challenging to objectively assess the extent of urban green coverage.
This study conducted empirical measurements on 38 common tree species in Taiwan and utilized ENVI-met simulations to model six scenarios of the Leaf Area Index (LAI). Based on shading capacity, a tree shading capacity index was established, and the impact of varying LAI values on human thermal comfort was analyzed. Additionally, two evaluation formulas—Green Plot Ratio (GPR) and Greenery Cooling Capability (GCC)—were developed to assess the amount of greenery at a given site and its cooling effectiveness.
The results indicate that high-LAI trees provide significant shading and cooling benefits in urban environments. As LAI increases, the reductions in ΔTmrt and ΔPET become more pronounced. A strong correlation was observed between greenery coverage and cooling effectiveness. Specifically, when GPR reaches 2.2, the average PET of a site decreases by 1.8 °C, and when GPR increases to 3.2, PET decreases by 4.4 °C. The GPR proposed in this study has already been incorporated into Taiwan’s green coverage regulations.
{"title":"The influence of trees shade level on human thermal comfort and the development of applied assessment tools","authors":"Yu-Ying Wei, Ching-Yin Cheng, Tzu-Ping Lin","doi":"10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105436","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105436","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With the intensification of global warming and the urban heat island effect, vegetation plays a crucial role in shading and cooling urban spaces. The extensive planting of trees not only contributes to urban cooling but also enhances human thermal comfort by providing shade. Implementing government policies and regulations is an effective strategy for promoting urban greenery. However, Taiwan currently lacks a comprehensive database and assessment methodology for evaluating tree shading capacity, making it challenging to objectively assess the extent of urban green coverage.</div><div>This study conducted empirical measurements on 38 common tree species in Taiwan and utilized ENVI-met simulations to model six scenarios of the Leaf Area Index (LAI). Based on shading capacity, a tree shading capacity index was established, and the impact of varying LAI values on human thermal comfort was analyzed. Additionally, two evaluation formulas—Green Plot Ratio (GPR) and Greenery Cooling Capability (GCC)—were developed to assess the amount of greenery at a given site and its cooling effectiveness.</div><div>The results indicate that high-LAI trees provide significant shading and cooling benefits in urban environments. As LAI increases, the reductions in ΔTmrt and ΔPET become more pronounced. A strong correlation was observed between greenery coverage and cooling effectiveness. Specifically, when GPR reaches 2.2, the average PET of a site decreases by 1.8 °C, and when GPR increases to 3.2, PET decreases by 4.4 °C. The GPR proposed in this study has already been incorporated into Taiwan’s green coverage regulations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54744,"journal":{"name":"Landscape and Urban Planning","volume":"263 ","pages":"Article 105436"},"PeriodicalIF":7.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144279226","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-12DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2025.105440
Ingrid N. Gomes , Victor H.D. Silva , Rodrigo B. Gonçalves , Carlos A. Ordónez-Parra , Carolina P. Procópio-Santos , Sebastian O. Queroz , Diego M.P. Castro , João Carlos Pena , Pietro K. Maruyama
While urbanization is known for its adverse effects on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, urban vegetation has been shown to support diverse bee communities. Still, the drivers behind such biodiversity remain poorly understood, especially regarding the effects of urbanization on bees’ functional traits and their interactions with plants. Here, we investigated how bees’ taxonomic diversity, functional traits, and their interactions with plants are structured across a tropical urban landscape. We found that generalist bees dominated the landscape, accounting for 79% of all observed interactions. Plant species richness positively influenced bee richness, while bee abundance was positively influenced by plant species richness and negatively by the proportion of native plants. Urbanization predictors affected bee traits, with highly eusocial and above-ground nesting bees declining as plant richness increased, while ground-nesters increased. Generalist bees responded positively to higher proportions of impermeable surfaces, while specialists were negatively affected. Larger bees were more abundant in landscapes with higher diversity of plants. Irrespective of these changes, bee-plant interaction networks were unaffected by urbanization intensity, suggesting some stability for pollination services in these spaces. These findings highlight the complex ways in which specific bee traits are filtered out or benefited in urban communities and emphasize the necessity of considering the link between specific urbanization drivers and functional traits when planning bee-friendly urban landscapes.
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