Conference Paper

Proceedings of BSO Conference 2018: Fourth Conference of IBPSA-England

The Effect of Urban Spatial Characteristics on Microclimate

Wei Liao, Yeonsook Heo

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of urban spatial characteristics, particularly spatial heterogeneity, on urban microclimate through a case study of the Greater London area. GIS data and land surface temperature (LST) data are used to investigate relationships between urban spatial characteristics and urban microclimate. Two sets of correlation analyses based on the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient are carried out to understand underlying relationships among urban spatial variables and examine the impact of individual urban variables on urban climate. The case study shows that spatial heterogeneity measures, namely variation in street width, building surface area and building footprint, have a substantial effect on urban microclimate. The case study demonstrates that, in addition to average spatial measures relating to urban density and land use, spatial heterogeneity in the urban form is another important aspect to be considered in urban climate studies.
Pages: 642 - 648
Paper: