Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
12-2012
Abstract
We conducted microclimate simulations in ENVI-Met 3.1 to evaluate the impact of vegetation in lowering temperatures during an extreme heat event in an urban core neighborhood park in Phoenix, Arizona. We predicted air and surface temperatures under two different vegetation regimes: existing conditions representative of Phoenix urban core neighborhoods, and a proposed scenario informed by principles of landscape design and architecture and Urban Heat Island mitigation strategies. We found significant potential air and surface temperature reductions between representative and proposed vegetation scenarios: 1) a Park Cool Island effect that extended to non-vegetated surfaces; 2) a net cooling of air underneath or around canopied vegetation ranging from 0.9 °C to 1.9 °C during the warmest time of the day; and 3) potential reductions in surface temperatures from 0.8 °C to 8.4 °C in areas underneath or around vegetation.
Keywords
Microclimate simulation, Heat island, Urban vegetation, Heat wave, Phoenix, Park cool island
Discipline
Control Theory | Environmental Sciences
Research Areas
Political Science
Publication
Urban Ecosystems
Volume
16
Issue
3
First Page
617
Last Page
635
ISSN
1083-8155
Identifier
10.1007/s11252-012-0278-8
Publisher
Springer Verlag (Germany)
Citation
DECLET-BARRETO, Juan, BRAZEL, Anthony J., MARTIN, Chris A., CHOW, Winston T. L., & HARLAN, Sharon L..(2012). Creating the park cool island in an inner-city neighborhood: Heat mitigation strategy for Phoenix, AZ. Urban Ecosystems, 16(3), 617-635.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3054
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-012-0278-8