Leeds Beckett University
Leeds Sustainability Institute
Dr Parker specialises in building energy modelling and the urban environment, with ongoing research in the fields of domestic retrofit, low-energy dwellings, urban heat islands, air quality and the impact of urban green space. He manages externally funded research projects, collaborates with industrial partners and supports undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral students.

Presenter of 1 Presentation

QUANTIFYING AIR TEMPERATURE IN THE GREY AND GREEN SPACES OF AN URBAN HEAT ISLAND

Session Type
Academic Sessions
Date
02/22/2022
Session Time
01:00 PM - 02:15 PM
Room

Hall D

Lecture Time
01:30 PM - 01:40 PM

Abstract

Abstract Body

Whilst it is broadly understood that green infrastructure helps to mitigate against the urban heat island effect, there remains a relatively small body of measured data that quantifies the impact of green space on urban temperatures. This paper presents interim results from a long-term monitoring campaign in the city of Leeds, UK. A network of air temperature sensors housed in Stevenson shields were deployed across Leeds in the summer of 2019. There is a total of 20 sensors in this network; 11 in grey urban spaces, 7 in green infrastructure (small parks and trees), and 2 sensors at rural refence sites used in the calculation of the urban heat island. The data set reported in this paper covers the period July 2019 to November 2020 at an hourly resolution. Results quantify the urban heat island intensity (UHII) during this period but also the differences between air temperatures in the urban grey and green spaces. As well as there being diurnal differences in hourly temperature profiles, there are also distinct seasonal differences as well. The average UHII during this period was 1.8 °K, with a summer peak of 4.9 °K occurring in late evening. Within the UHI during summer months, the green space was on average 0.5 °K cooler than the grey spaces but are approximately 3 °K cooler on the hottest days. These measured data quantify the local cooling effects of the green space, which is useful at both a macro city-scale and micro citizen-scale. Results of this nature are useful in building a quantitative evidence base that supports the retention and introduction of urban green infrastructure.

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