Discussion of the Mitigation on Urban Heat Island Effect Based on Sustainable Development

Abstract

Several dispersing and small-scale measures such as permeable pavements, green streets, and ecological roofs for sustainable development to mitigate the heat island effect were proposed, and there the following environmental benefits and economic benefits were analyzed. Permeable pavements effectively relieve the negative influence on urban ecology caused by urban harden ground. As well, permeable pavements link up soil and air, making the ground warm in winter and cool in summer, which increase the sense of living comfort in the city. The research shows that when area of the urban roads increase to 25% of the whole city, completely applying the asphalt pavement roads can make the temperature 1 ~ 1. 5 °C lower on the whole in downtown district. Green streets are beautiful street landscapes which planting green plants such as shade trees on both sides of the streets. On one hand it can keep cool, and mitigate urban heat island effect. On the other hand it can absorb the greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, and maintain carbon-oxygen balance. Shade trees effectively prevent sunlight from hitting to the ground, and make the sun radiation intensity significantly lower than the harden ground and the lawn. The sun radiation intensity can be reduced by 80% or more on occasion that there have trees. Ecological roofs can adjust the temperature, and form natural air conditioning which is beneficial to improve the air quality. Research data show that in summer, on average, temperature of the ecological roofs are 2.6 °C lower than the bare cement roofs and in winter which are 0.84°C higher than the cement ones. Then the implementation of the feasibility through the above mentioned sustainable development measures to achieve the minimum impact on the environment, which play an important role in reducing urban surface temperature was discussed. The prospect of implementing the technology in China that usually appeared in high densely-populated urban areas was given at the end of this paper.

A systematic review of heat recovery from roads for mitigating urban heat island effects: current state and future directions

“…Further research is required to investigate the issues and applications of these technologies in diverse urban settings. The temperature variance between urban and rural areas can reach up to 10 °C, leading to elevated energy consumption for cooling and heat-related ailments (Wang and Xue, 2012). In recent studies, a variety of materials and techniques have been explored for their potential to enhance heat transfer efficiency.…”