Investigating the Cooling Effects of Urban Shade: Insights from 3D Modeling, Thermal Infrared Imagery, and Scenario Simulations

In the context of climate change and rapid urbanization, compact and high-rise urban development has exacerbated heat stress for urban residents. However, the potential cooling effect of urban shade cast by three-dimensional urban spaces to block direct solar radiation has not been taken into account in the urban climate-sensitive planning. Furthermore, existing studies on urban shade are often constrained by limitations of high-accuracy data acquisition and a lack of understanding of its cooling mechanisms, hindering its application as a scientifically validated heat mitigation strategy. Therefore, this study attempts to understand the cooling effect of urban shade by investigating its impact on outdoor thermal comfort and land surface temperature. We collected high-accuracy geographical data for 3D urban modeling and two scenarios were further simulated in the ENVI-met model to find out how does shade infrastructure affect outdoor thermal comfort. Additionally, we collected multi-temporal thermal infrared imagery to investigate the cooling effect of urban shade on land surface temperature on a fine-scaled spatial resolution. This study aims to enhance the understanding of the cooling mechanisms of urban shade through on-site observation and simulation. The findings provide valuable support for implementing urban shade as an effective heat mitigation strategy to alleviate heat stress for residents during hot summers.