Affiliation:
1. The College of Landscape Architecture, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Abstract
Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) is a key approach to greening and cooling high-density blocks. Previous studies have focused on the impact of a single GSI on thermal comfort on sunny days, ignoring rainwater’s role and GSI combinations. Therefore, based on measured data of a real urban area in Nanjing, China, this study utilized 45 single-GSI and combination simulation scenarios, as well as three local climate zone (LCZ) baseline scenarios to compare and analyze three high-density blocks within the city. Among the 32 simulations specifically conducted in LCZ1 and LCZ2, 2 of them were dedicated to baseline scenario simulations, whereas the remaining 30 simulations were evenly distributed across LCZ1 and LCZ2, with 15 simulations allocated to each zone. The physiological equivalent temperature (PET) was calculated using the ENVI-met specification to evaluate outdoor thermal comfort. The objective of this research was to determine the optimal GSI combinations for different LCZs, their impact on pedestrian thermal comfort, GSI response to rainwater, and the effect of GSI on pedestrian recreation areas. Results showed that GSI combinations are crucial for improving thermal comfort in compact high-rise and mid-rise areas, while a single GSI suffices in low-rise areas. In extreme heat, rainfall is vital for GSI’s effectiveness, and complex GSI can extend the thermal comfort improvement time following rainfall by more than 1 h. Adding shading and trees to GSI combinations maximizes thermal comfort in potential crowd activity areas, achieving up to 54.23% improvement. Future GSI construction in high-density blocks should focus on different combinations of GSI based on different LCZs, offering insights for GSI planning in Southeast Asia.
Funder
Humanities and Social Science Fund of the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China
China Scholarship Council
the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions