Analytical study of the impact of greenery and public space distribution on land surface temperature in mid-size cities of Poland

Abstract

The focus of the article is the impact of urban geometry and greenery on the surface temperature in a city and the Urban Heat Islands (UHI) effect. The research problem discussed in the article is to define optimal combination of such parameters as urban geometry, greenery and the LST to enhance the temperature comfort and reduce the UHI effect. The methodology combines CAD and GIS environments. Vector data of 1:10000 scale, from the National Database of Topographic Objects (BDOTlOk) is used to analyse urban structure. GIS data include rasters derived from remote sensing: Land Surface Temperature (LST), Digital Surface Model (DSM) and Digital Terrain Model (DTM). The analysis covers areas in Szczecin and Gdynia, two mid-sized cities in Poland. The results indicate a more distinct dependence of LST on greenery parameters than on buildings. The main contribution of the article is the development of a uniform data grid based on CAD and GIS data, allowing for an objective analysis of the city's temperature comfort based on the parameters of buildings, greenery and LST.