The effects of land use on spatial pattern of urban green spaces and their cooling ability
Mahyar Masoudi, Puay Yok Tan, Marjan Fadaei
Abstract
While both composition and configuration of urban green spaces (UGS) have been shown to affect the cooling effect of UGS, more studies have focused on how land use affects UGS composition and the subsequent impacts on UGS cooling ability. We used Singapore to fill this gap by comparing the interrelationships among land use, spatial pattern and cooling effect of UGS between 2005 and 2015. Landsat imageries and Singapore's Master Plans were used to produce UGS, land surface temperature (LST) and land use maps. Our findings demonstrate that almost all land uses increased in size and lost vegetation over time and showed increased LST as a consequence. Our results support the limited evidence that land use not only affects the UGS composition, but influences their configuration and their cooling effect. In both years, land uses with more, simpler shape, less fragmented, and more connected UGS patches had lower LST and higher cooling effect. How UGS pattern affects cooling effect in each land use was shown to be dependent on the existing UGS pattern in that land use, with four major patterns identified. Our results may help urban planners evaluate the thermal consequences of their land use proposals.