IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i8p4260-d534395.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Role of Green Infrastructure in Enhancing Microclimate Conditions: A Case Study of a Low-Rise Neighborhood in Abu Dhabi

Author

Listed:
  • Mahmoud Abu Ali

    (Department of Civil Infrastructure and Environmental Engineering, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi 127788, United Arab Emirates)

  • Khaled Alawadi

    (Department of Civil Infrastructure and Environmental Engineering, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi 127788, United Arab Emirates)

  • Asim Khanal

    (Department of Civil Infrastructure and Environmental Engineering, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi 127788, United Arab Emirates)

Abstract

Urban heat islands are characterized by the increased temperature in urban areas compared with the rural surroundings due to human-made interventions that replace natural lands with buildings and roads. This study focuses on the assessment and utilization of using local nature-based solutions such as trees, sensitive landscaping types and design strategies to enhance microclimate in neighborhood streets and the public realm in desert areas, taking Abu Dhabi as a case study. The research utilizes a design-based approach to propose landscaping and layouts of urban street trees in low-rise residential urban areas. In this study, two methods namely an on-site measurement using citizen science, and a numerical simulation model in the ENVI-met software are used. Site-measurements included the tree physical characteristics such as tree height, crown width (crown spread/diameter), and trunk height, and the use of technology (photography and the Fulcrum mobile application, Nikon Forestry pro Laser Rangefinder) and air temperature around trees. ENVI-met included four scenarios: 1—“no-vegetation”, 2—“grass-only”, 3—“existing conditions” and 4—“proposed landscape design”. Grass and three types of local street trees are used in the proposed scenarios including Ghaf, Poinciana, and Temple tree. In addition, a standard of 6 and 8 m spacing between each tree is applied to determine the effect of varying vegetation densities on the outdoor temperature. The combined results using citizen science and the model allowed the identification of particular urban tree species that show substantial cooling effects. This is the case of Poinciana trees, which decreased the air temperature up to 0.9 °C when spaced every six meters in pathways and open unshaded areas amongst alleys, improving the overall thermal conditions in neighborhoods of hot-arid landscapes.

Suggested Citation

  • Mahmoud Abu Ali & Khaled Alawadi & Asim Khanal, 2021. "The Role of Green Infrastructure in Enhancing Microclimate Conditions: A Case Study of a Low-Rise Neighborhood in Abu Dhabi," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-24, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:8:p:4260-:d:534395
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/8/4260/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/8/4260/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gago, E.J. & Roldan, J. & Pacheco-Torres, R. & Ordóñez, J., 2013. "The city and urban heat islands: A review of strategies to mitigate adverse effects," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 749-758.
    2. Taleb, Dana & Abu-Hijleh, Bassam, 2013. "Urban heat islands: Potential effect of organic and structured urban configurations on temperature variations in Dubai, UAE," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 747-762.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wesam M. Elbardisy & Mohamed A. Salheen & Mohammed Fahmy, 2021. "Solar Irradiance Reduction Using Optimized Green Infrastructure in Arid Hot Regions: A Case Study in El-Nozha District, Cairo, Egypt," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-32, August.
    2. Jérôme Ngao & Macarena L. Cárdenas & Thierry Améglio & Jérôme Colin & Marc Saudreau, 2021. "Implications of Urban Land Management on the Cooling Properties of Urban Trees: Citizen Science and Laboratory Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-17, December.
    3. Balakrishnan Lekshmi & Dipanjan Saha & Rahul S. Sutar & Richa Singh & Shardul D. Prabhu & Arundhati M. Kamat & Shruti Sharma & Raghuvansh Saxena & Steven Loiselle & Shyam R. Asolekar, 2021. "Science & Technology Agenda for Blue-Green Spaces Inspired by Citizen Science: Case for Rejuvenation of Powai Lake," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-23, September.
    4. Katia Perini & Chiara Calise & Paola Castellari & Enrica Roccotiello, 2022. "Microclimatic and Environmental Improvement in a Mediterranean City through the Regeneration of an Area with Nature-Based Solutions: A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-18, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Toparlar, Y. & Blocken, B. & Maiheu, B. & van Heijst, G.J.F., 2017. "A review on the CFD analysis of urban microclimate," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1613-1640.
    2. Liu Tian & Yongcai Li & Jun Lu & Jue Wang, 2021. "Review on Urban Heat Island in China: Methods, Its Impact on Buildings Energy Demand and Mitigation Strategies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-31, January.
    3. Jamshidi, Ali & Kurumisawa, Kiyofumi & Nawa, Toyoharu & Igarashi, Toshifumi, 2016. "Performance of pavements incorporating waste glass: The current state of the art," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 211-236.
    4. David Hidalgo García, 2023. "Evaluation and Analysis of the Effectiveness of the Main Mitigation Measures against Surface Urban Heat Islands in Different Local Climate Zones through Remote Sensing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-23, July.
    5. Taleghani, Mohammad, 2018. "Outdoor thermal comfort by different heat mitigation strategies- A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 2011-2018.
    6. Jamei, E. & Ossen, D.R. & Seyedmahmoudian, M. & Sandanayake, M. & Stojcevski, A. & Horan, B., 2020. "Urban design parameters for heat mitigation in tropics," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    7. Daniel Mora-Melià & Carlos S. López-Aburto & Pablo Ballesteros-Pérez & Pedro Muñoz-Velasco, 2018. "Viability of Green Roofs as a Flood Mitigation Element in the Central Region of Chile," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-19, April.
    8. Jae-Ik Kim & Myung-Jin Jun & Chang-Hwan Yeo & Ki-Hyun Kwon & Jun Yong Hyun, 2019. "The Effects of Land Use Zoning and Densification on Changes in Land Surface Temperature in Seoul," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-14, December.
    9. Pigliautile, I. & Pisello, A.L. & Bou-Zeid, E., 2020. "Humans in the city: Representing outdoor thermal comfort in urban canopy models," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    10. Hongyu Du & Fengqi Zhou & Chunlan Li & Wenbo Cai & Hong Jiang & Yongli Cai, 2020. "Analysis of the Impact of Land Use on Spatiotemporal Patterns of Surface Urban Heat Island in Rapid Urbanization, a Case Study of Shanghai, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-17, February.
    11. De Valck, Jeremy & Beames, Alistair & Liekens, Inge & Bettens, Maarten & Seuntjens, Piet & Broekx, Steven, 2019. "Valuing urban ecosystem services in sustainable brownfield redevelopment," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 139-149.
    12. Maria Makropoulou, 2017. "Microclimate Improvement of Inner-City Urban Areas in a Mediterranean Coastal City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-29, May.
    13. Chiarelli, A. & Dawson, A.R. & García, A., 2015. "Parametric analysis of energy harvesting pavements operated by air convection," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 951-958.
    14. Schneider, Philipp & Walz, Ariane & Albert, Christian & Lipp, Torsten, 2021. "Ecosystem-based adaptation in cities: Use of formal and informal planning instruments," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    15. Miguel Centeno Brito, 2020. "Assessing the Impact of Photovoltaics on Rooftops and Facades in the Urban Micro-Climate," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-10, May.
    16. Kamruzzaman, Md. & Deilami, Kaveh & Yigitcanlar, Tan, 2018. "Investigating the urban heat island effect of transit oriented development in Brisbane," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 116-124.
    17. Wei Zhang & Feng Chen, 2018. "Impacts of Grading Rule on Urban Thermal Landscape Pattern Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-16, July.
    18. Lawal, Abiola S. & Servadio, Joseph L. & Davis, Tate & Ramaswami, Anu & Botchwey, Nisha & Russell, Armistead G., 2021. "Orthogonalization and machine learning methods for residential energy estimation with social and economic indicators," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    19. Xing Shi & Binghui Si & Jiangshan Zhao & Zhichao Tian & Chao Wang & Xing Jin & Xin Zhou, 2019. "Magnitude, Causes, and Solutions of the Performance Gap of Buildings: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-21, February.
    20. Suk-jin Jung & Seong-hwan Yoon, 2018. "Study on the Prediction and Improvement of Indoor Natural Light and Outdoor Comfort in Apartment Complexes Using Daylight Factor and Physiologically Equivalent Temperature Indices," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-19, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:8:p:4260-:d:534395. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.