Dynamic Impact of Urban Built Environment on Land Surface Temperature Considering Spatio-Temporal Heterogeneity: A Perspective of Local Climate Zone

Thermal environment deterioration has seriously threatened urban habitat quality and urban sustainable development. The evolution of the urban built environment (UBE) is an important cause for urban thermal environment variation. However, the dynamic effect of the UBE on the land surface temperature (LST) is rarely studied by combining the local climate zone (LCZ) theory and spatio-temporal heterogeneity. Based on a case study of Beilin District in Xi’an, China, this paper identified LCZ types of Beilin District in 2010, 2015, and 2020 using the GIS method. It also analyzed the spatial–temporal characteristics of the LST in summer based on the remote sensing retrieval method and explored the effects of the built environment on the LST by Geodetector and geographically weighted regression (GWR). The results showed the following: (1) The area share of dense building zones in Beilin District was greater than that of open building zones and natural surface zones, while the share of mid- and high-rise dense building zones continued to increase and the share of low-rise dense building zones continued to decrease during the study period. (2) The LST of different LCZ types in Beilin District was obviously different, and the LST of dense building zones was generally higher than that of open building zones and natural surface zones. Meanwhile, the LST of mid- and low-rise dense building zones increased gradually, and the LST of high-rise open building zones decreased gradually, but the overall warming area was obviously more than the cooling area. (3) The effects of the UBE factors on the LST varied greatly, with their interaction having an enhancement effect. The direct and interactive influence of the two-dimensional (2D) UBE indicators on the LST were greater than those of the three-dimensional (3D) indicators, but there was a gradual decrease in the force of the 2D indicators and a simultaneous diminution, enhancement, and invariance of the force of the 3D indicators. (4) Vegetation cover (VC) and floor area ratio (FAR) acted negatively, and the building height (BH) was changing from a positive to a negative role, with the average action intensity of VC changing from −0.27 to −0.15, FAR from −0.20 to −0.16, and BH from 0.05 to −0.04. The impervious surface area (ISA), building area (BA), and space congestion (SC) acted positively, with the average action intensity of the ISA changing from 0.12 to 0.20, BA from 0.12 to 0.19, and SC was stable at 0.04. The framework enables a deeper portrayal of LST changes in different LCZs, reflecting the direct and interactive effects of different UBE indicators on LST, as well as local variations in the impact effects and provides a basis for urban managers or planners to improve urban heat resilience.