The cooling effect of a medium sized park on an urban environment

Abstract

The Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect can best be described as an increase in the temperature of urban areas relative to their surroundings. This effect can exceed 5oC in places. This study investigates how vegetation, in particular urban parklands, can be used to reduce the intensity of the UHI effect. To achieve this, the study uses a ground based approach relying on high spatial and temporal resolution temperature measurements using both a hand-held weather meter and a hand-held thermal laser-gun. The study focusses on one medium sized park in Melbourne, Australia and samples air temperatures (at 5 cm and 1.5 m above the ground) and land surface temperature profiles six times a day over one month starting within the park and extending to approximately 1 km outside of the park. The study shows that the park has a significant cooling effect for a distance of up to 860 m from its boundaries and that this is most significant in the early morning. The study also shows that land surface temperatures are more sensitive to park cooling effects than are air temperatures.