Sustainable Technologies in Landscape and Urban Planning Response to Climate Change

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Biosphere/Hydrosphere/Land–Atmosphere Interactions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 November 2023) | Viewed by 10059

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The journal Atmosphere is launching a Special Issue on the topic of “The Sustainable Technologies in Landscape and Urban Planning Response to Climate Change”. We are inviting researchers from all world-leading universities and research institutions to contribute their research achievements in this field as well as their new knowledge and technologies to solve the issues caused by climate change in cities. This new knowledge and technology includes emerging datasets, techniques, skills, methods, and processes used in the production of goods or services or in the achievement of objectives.

The prospective accepted manuscripts should demonstrate how novelty technologies could be further applied into design or planning to respond to the issues caused by climate change. The Special Issue aims to publish innovative and sustainable technologies in landscape design and urban planning to address the problems and future challenges within the scope of:

  • Health impacts associated with climate-related changes;
  • Urban heat island mitigation;
  • Urban microclimate changes;
  • Risk resilience and climate actions;
  • Climate change and its impacts to air quality;
  • Sustainability assessment of mitigation and adaptation solutions in the built environment;
  • Human activity and climate change;
  • Hydrosphere and climate change;
  • Ecological restoration and microclimate mitigation.

Dr. Xiwei Shen
Dr. Yang Song
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Atmosphere is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • climate change
  • sustainable development
  • environmental resilience
  • place assessment
  • landscape architecture
  • urban planning
  • microclimate
  • ecological restoration

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (5 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Other

19 pages, 10624 KiB  
Article
Examining the Microclimate Pattern and Related Spatial Perception of the Urban Stormwater Management Landscape: The Case of Rain Gardens
by Mengting Ge, Yang Huang, Yifanzi Zhu, Mintai Kim and Xiaolei Cui
Atmosphere 2023, 14(7), 1138; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14071138 - 12 Jul 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1769
Abstract
This study examines the microclimate pattern and related spatial perception of urban green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) and the stormwater management landscape, using rain gardens as a case study. It investigates the relationship between different rain garden design factors, such as scale, depth, and [...] Read more.
This study examines the microclimate pattern and related spatial perception of urban green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) and the stormwater management landscape, using rain gardens as a case study. It investigates the relationship between different rain garden design factors, such as scale, depth, and planting design, and their effects on microclimate patterns and human spatial perception. Taking an area in Blacksburg, Virginia, as the study site, twelve rain garden design scenarios are generated by combining different design factors. The potential air temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed/direction are analyzed through computational simulation. Additionally, feelings of comfort, the visual beauty of the landscape, and the overall favorite are used as an evaluation index to investigate people’s perception of various rain garden design options. The study found that a multilayer and complex planting design can add more areas with moderate temperature and higher humidity. It also significantly improves people’s subjective perception of a rain garden. Furthermore, a larger scale rain garden can make people feel more comfortable and improve the visual beauty of the landscape, highlighting the importance of designing larger and recreational bioretention cells in GSI systems. Regarding depth, a relatively flatter rain garden with a complex planting design can bring stronger air flow and achieve better visual comfort and visual beauty. Overall, by examining the microclimate pattern and related perception of rain gardens, this study provides insight into better rain garden design strategies for the urban stormwater management landscape. It explores the potential of rain garden design in urban GSI and responds to climate change. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 6447 KiB  
Article
Quantify the Spatial Association between the Distribution of Catering Business and Urban Spaces in London Using Catering POI Data and Image Segmentation
by Yang Zhang, Xiaowei Li, Qingrui Jiang, Mingze Chen and Lunyuan Liu
Atmosphere 2022, 13(12), 2128; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13122128 - 19 Dec 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2312
Abstract
The impacts of global climate change on food systems will be broad, complex, and profoundly affected by urban context. Food-related urbanism has been investigated for decades to explore how food access influences placemaking and urban forms. With global climate change, foodscapes within urban [...] Read more.
The impacts of global climate change on food systems will be broad, complex, and profoundly affected by urban context. Food-related urbanism has been investigated for decades to explore how food access influences placemaking and urban forms. With global climate change, foodscapes within urban spaces are an important consideration in urban design and planning for food security and community health. The distribution of catering businesses (restaurants and cafés), one critical method of access to food, is highly associated with urban spaces because of their high impact on diet patterns, human physical activities, travel behaviors, and the use of public spaces. This research explores the spatial associations that exist between the distribution of catering businesses and the design and planning of urban spaces in London. This quantitative research includes three parts: (1) uses Open Street Map data and the GIS spatial analysis method to study the distribution of catering businesses; (2) uses the imagery segmentation method in machine learning to categorize urban spaces into open, landscape, and conflict spaces; and (3) establishes the association between the distribution of catering businesses and the categories of urban spaces through Spearman’s correlation and a linear regression model. The results indicate that the spatial distributions of catering businesses are highly correlated with urban spaces. Conflict and landscape spaces have a significant positive influence on the distribution of catering businesses, while open space has a significant negative influence. Based on the context of global climate change, this research contributes a quantitative urban design and planning approach to promote access to food increase food options and advocate active lifestyles. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 3352 KiB  
Article
Decoupling of the Municipal Thermal Environment Using a Spatial Autoregressive Model
by Qingrui Jiang, Xiaochang Liu, Zhiqiang Wu, Yuankai Wang and Jiahua Dong
Atmosphere 2022, 13(12), 2059; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13122059 - 8 Dec 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1423
Abstract
In the rapid urbanization process, climate change has a huge impact on the urban thermal environment, and the urban heat island has attracted widespread attention from society. How to better detect, analyze, and evaluate the urban heat island effect has become a hot [...] Read more.
In the rapid urbanization process, climate change has a huge impact on the urban thermal environment, and the urban heat island has attracted widespread attention from society. How to better detect, analyze, and evaluate the urban heat island effect has become a hot issue in current urban environmental research. However, the correlation analysis of heat island factors mostly adopts the conventional least square method, without considering the correlation of and the interaction between spatial elements. At the same time, the single analysis method makes it difficult to analyze environmental problems scientifically, which leads to great bias. Therefore, in this paper, the spatial autoregressive confusion model was used to analyze the satellite data of Beijing, and a preliminary temperature model of Beijing for all seasons was established. The regression results show that the surface temperature of Beijing has a strong spatial autocorrelation, and that the modified normalized difference water index and the normalized differential vegetation index have a strong negative effect on the land surface temperature. The prediction models established in this study can provide accurate and sustainable data support in the urbanization process and aid in the creation of a sustainable and effective urban environment. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 2145 KiB  
Article
Effects of Mixed Cropping of Garden Plants with Brassica parachinensis on Remediation of Cr-Polluted Soil in Community Garden
by Shiyu Cui, Wenbin Liu, Hexian Jin, Qiao Yi, Ying Wang and Dan Liu
Atmosphere 2022, 13(12), 1991; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13121991 - 28 Nov 2022
Viewed by 1492
Abstract
Industrialization and urbanization have produced large amounts of atmospheric and soil pollutants. Among them, heavy metals are one of the main byproducts that are widely distributed in the atmosphere, water, soil and organisms, which have a great impact on climate. It is of [...] Read more.
Industrialization and urbanization have produced large amounts of atmospheric and soil pollutants. Among them, heavy metals are one of the main byproducts that are widely distributed in the atmosphere, water, soil and organisms, which have a great impact on climate. It is of great significance to reduce their enrichment in soil by ecological restoration methods for the sustainable development of urban atmosphere and climate. This study investigated the effects of different garden plants (Festuca arundinacea, Ageratum conyzoides, Trifolium repens) mixed with Brassica parachinensis on plant growth, physiological indexes and Cr (chromium) content in aboveground and underground parts in Cr (the main heavy metal pollution produced by industrialization) contaminated soil. The yield of B. parachinensis was the highest under the mixed cropping mode with T. repens, with the Cr content in edible parts being lower than the standard, suggesting an effective combination of B. parachinensis in community gardens. The mixed cropping of F. arundinacea with Bra decreased B. parachinensis yield. Under the mixed cropping of A. conyzoides, the edible parts of B. parachinensis were aggravated by Cr pollution, which was not recommended for planting. Our results suggest that converting the monoculture mode of vegetables to mixed cropping with garden plants reduced heavy metal pollution of community garden plants and improved soil productivity and environmental quality. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Other

Jump to: Research

17 pages, 4571 KiB  
Technical Note
Awareness of Spontaneous Urban Vegetation: Significance of Social Media-Based Public Psychogeography in Promoting Community Climate-Resilient Construction: A Technical Note
by Jie Kong, Wei He, Yongli Zheng and Xiaowei Li
Atmosphere 2023, 14(11), 1691; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14111691 - 16 Nov 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1447
Abstract
Traditional urban green spaces offer numerous benefits to the environment and residents, but their high social resource expenditure on exploitation and maintenance makes them insufficient to face the threats of global climate change and the rapid pace of urbanization, further raising numerous other [...] Read more.
Traditional urban green spaces offer numerous benefits to the environment and residents, but their high social resource expenditure on exploitation and maintenance makes them insufficient to face the threats of global climate change and the rapid pace of urbanization, further raising numerous other socio-environmental issues. Spontaneous urban plants have a superior ability to mitigate urban environmental crises due to their ability to maintain urban biodiversity and provide ecological benefits with minor cost and effort of maintenance. However, these values are often overshadowed by their stigmatized image and aesthetic characteristics that are not widely appreciated by the general public. To promote the future utilization of spontaneous plants at the community level, this study explores how, from the perspective of individual psychology, aesthetic appreciation of spontaneous plants can serve as a pivotal element in motivating environmental participation, thereby fostering urban resilience. Public psychogeography, with its focus on the emotional and behavioral interactions between individuals and their urban environments, can be instrumental in promoting community climate resilience by enhancing place attachment and inspiring collective action towards sustainable urban living. Through study, the project conducted by Future Green Studio, based in New York City, raised public interest and awareness based on psychogeography theory and presented a way of using social media posts, not only as a reflection of the public’s aesthetic appreciation of spontaneous urban plants but also as a data collection instrument of their geo-location and ecological properties. The result of the social media engagement activities enabled the establishment of a growing interactive digital open database, covering all of New York City. This database succeeded due to its efficient data collection methods, which resulted in more robust stakeholder engagement as compared to conventional community engagement efforts. The research argues that when residents are empowered to document and learn about their environment, they can become active agents in the creation of sustainable, resilient, and aesthetically enriched urban ecosystems. The success of this initiative offers a replicable model for other cities and demonstrates the potential for collaborative efforts in environmental restoration and education. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop