Li, X, Stringer, LC and Dallimer, M orcid.org/0000-0001-8120-3309 (2022) The role of blue green infrastructure in the urban thermal environment across seasons and local climate zones in East Africa. Sustainable Cities and Society, 80. 103798. ISSN 2210-6707
Abstract
Rapid urbanisation and climate change are two major trends in Africa in need of further investigation. In this paper, the urban thermal environment and vegetation abundance in four East African cities (Khartoum, Addis Ababa, Kampala and Dar es Salaam) were characterised, providing new insights into the role and potentials of blue green infrastructure in differing climate regions. The Local Climate Zone (LCZ) framework was employed to detect the seasonal Land Surface Temperature (LST) and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) derived from Landsat-8 data. Significant LST differences between LCZs in dry and rainy seasons were confirmed using a Welch's T test. The LCZs were found to offer potentially new approaches to investigating issues pertaining to urban heating in data-scarce regions. Greater surface urban heat island (SUHI) intensity during the rainy season was apparent in Khartoum and Addis Ababa, emphasising the importance of seasonality in urban thermal studies. Spatial correlations between EVI and LST within each LCZ were analysed through Moran's I and further illustrated the complex relationships of vegetation and thermal behaviour in urban areas. Despite these complexities, urban blue green infrastructure was found to moderate the SUHI, with different types of intervention required across different LCZs.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This is an author produced version of an article published in Sustainable Cities and Society. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Surface urban heat island; Enhanced vegetation index; Blue green infrastructure; Climate change; Urbanisation; Thermal environment |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 21 Mar 2022 14:57 |
Last Modified: | 23 Feb 2023 01:13 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.scs.2022.103798 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:184942 |