Influence of Spatial Characteristics of Green Spaces on Microclimate: A Case Study in Suzhou Industrial Park, China

Abstract

Continuous urban development leads to urban heat island effects. Research suggests that urban green spaces can help effectively reduce urban heat island effects in the summer. Previous studies have mainly focused on the influence of different underlying surfaces on air cooling and humidification. There is a lack of in-depth research on the relationship between park structure and microclimatic effects. Here, we examined the main landscape parameters of green spaces in 15 parks located in Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) with a subtropical maritime monsoon climate zone during the summer to analyze their influence on the microclimate. The average cooling and humidifying effect of medium-size green spaces was most significant during high-temperature hours in the daytime. When the distance to a water body was the same, the average cooling and humidifying effect ranked as follows: large-size green space > small-size green space > medium-size green space. We explored the mechanisms of the local cooling and humidifying effects of woodland and water areas in parks by numerical simulations. The significance of the cooling and humidifying effects of water areas of different shapes was as follows: annular water > massive water > banded water. This confirmed that the shape and size of water areas within a green space has a significant influence on local cooling and humidification.