IoT sensor networks at a human-scale: Understanding what drives suburban Park Cool Islands

Establishing public parks in new residential suburbs is a good way to mitigate urban heat and provide green space for nature connection, social recreation and exercise. However, understanding what drives when, and by how much, a park is cooler than the surrounding built residential landscape is key to designing and managing public parks for climate change adaption.

We established a climate sensor network across three small public parks in new residential landscapes of Western Melbourne, Australia. LoRaWAN gateways and three sensor networks were established at 1.5 m to measure microclimate conditions at a human-scale within and around these three parks for five months continuously from Summer into Winter.  The driving variables of background air temperature, wind speed, wind direction and solar radiation were modelled to understand how often and under what conditions a significant PCI developed and how far the cooling benefit could extends from the park.

Daytime PCI intensity remained <1.0°C and showed a positive response to solar radiation and background air temperature of the day, and a weak negative response to increasing windspeed. In the mid-afternoon (3 pm) PCI intensity could be as great as 2.0°C.  The need to standardise how PCI phenomena are studied is discussed in light of these models and the impact of different sensor network configurations.