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Special Issue "Urban Climate and Health"

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Urban and Rural Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 4635

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Cho Kwong Charlie Lam

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Guest Editor

School of Atmospheric Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Interests: urban microclimate; outdoor thermal comfort; heat mitigation; field experiments
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Hung Chak Ho

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Guest Editor

Department of Anaesthesiology, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Interests: urban climate and population/community health; neighborhood environment and urban health; environmental exposure and health assessments
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Yuan Shi

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Guest Editor

Department of Geography & Planning, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
Interests: evidence-based sustainable; climate-adaptive; healthy urban planning

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

There is a consensus in the literature that climate change impacts urban climates, affecting humans’ health in cities worldwide, and the level of this effect varies at different scales. However, there is a knowledge gap regarding the influence of urban climates on health, as scholars from various disciplines tackle this issue from different angles. Climate researchers usually examine the physical mechanisms of urban climatology, such as air pollution and urban heat islands. In contrast, public health researchers tend to focus on the health outcomes of various types of exposure, such as mortality and morbidity. Therefore, interdisciplinary efforts are needed to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the physical mechanisms of urban climates and their impacts on different human health outcomes.

This Special Issue aims to explore the complex relationships between urban climates and various aspects of human health in cities. Urban climates involve multiple spatial scales such as the building scale, micro scale, and neighborhood scale to larger scales such as the city scale or regional scale. Moreover, the health impact of urban climate ranges from the short term, i.e., days, to the long-term, i.e., decades. This Special Issue represents an effort to better understand the exposure, risks, and different health effects in urban environments considering climate change. We welcome interdisciplinary research that offers new insights into the relationship between urban climates and health issues.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

Health risks of air pollution;
Co-exposure to urban pollution and urban heat island;
Heat-related mortality and morbidity;
Urban environment and thermal comfort;
Urban precipitation, flooding, and health risks;
Communicable diseases in urban environments;
Occupational heat exposure, productivity, and concentration;
Climatic change and mental health in cities;
Vulnerability, impact, and adaptation assessments;
Health impact assessments of intervention strategies;
Early warning systems regarding heat health and air pollution.

Dr. Cho Kwong Charlie Lam
Dr. Hung Chak Ho
Dr. Yuan Shi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

urban climate
urban heat island
air pollution
human health
vulnerability
environmental health
public health
climate change adaptation
climate change mitigation
climate-sensitive urban design

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

Open AccessArticle

Statistical Characteristics of Air Quality Index DAQx*-Specific Air Pollutants Differentiated by Types of Air Quality Monitoring Stations: A Case Study of Seoul, Republic of Korea

Hyunjung Lee

Sookuk Park

and

Helmut Mayer

Sustainability 2023, 15(11), 8599; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118599 - 25 May 2023

Viewed by 259

Abstract

Seoul has a high density of air quality monitoring stations (AQMSs) grouped into roadside, urban, and background types. Using the extensive data from 42 AQMSs in the period 2018 to 2021, the statistical characteristics of air pollutants required to calculate the daily air quality index DAQx* (daily maximum 1 h O₃ and NO₂ means and daily 24 h PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 means) are determined, depending on station types and three temporal periods (individual years, winters, and summers). The results for (i) annual cycles, which include peak concentrations of PM₁₀ (up to 517 µg/m³ in May 2021) and PM_2.5 (up to 153 µg/m³ in March 2019) owing to transboundary transport, (ii) annual medians, (iii) annual scattering ranges, (iv) partitioning of frequencies into DAQx*-related concentration ranges, and (v) maximum daily variations within individual station types indicate clear statistical air pollutant characteristics depending on the station types. They were primarily caused by different emission and atmospheric exchange conditions in a circular buffer around each AQMS, which are often approximated by urban form variables. The maximum daily variations were highest in the middle NO₂ concentration range of the “satisfying” class for the roadside type (between 53% in summer 2019 and 90% in winter 2020). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Climate and Health)

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Open AccessArticle

Combined Effects of Photochemical Processes, Pollutant Sources and Urban Configuration on Photochemical Pollutant Concentrations

and

Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3281; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043281 - 10 Feb 2023

Viewed by 523

Abstract

Rapid urbanization, dense urban configuration and increasing traffic emissions have caused severe air pollution, resulting in severe threats to public health. Particularly, photochemical pollution is associated with chemical transformation introducing more complexity. The understanding of the combined effects of pollutant sources, urban configuration and chemical transformation is still insufficient because most previous studies focused on non-reactive pollutant dispersions. In this study, we adopt a simplified street network model including complex photochemical reactions, i.e., the Model of Urban Network of Intersecting Canyons and Highways (MUNICH), with the real traffic and street data of a region in Guangzhou to investigate the combined effects of the three factors above on photochemical pollution. Our simulations show that the overall reduction in traffic emissions decreases NO_x pollution while increasing O₃ concentration. Controlling VOC emission can effectively mitigate O₃ pollution. Moreover, irregular building heights and arrangements can lead to certain hot spots of air pollution. High-rise buildings will obstruct ventilation and exacerbate pollution. If higher buildings have lower vehicle use, the deep canyon can offset the effect of lower emissions. In conclusion, urban planners and policy makers should avoid deep canyons and irregular street networks to achieve better pollutant dispersion and pay attention to controlling VOC emissions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Climate and Health)

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Open AccessArticle

Comparison of the Thermal Environment by Local Climate Zones in Summer: A Case Study in Suwon, Republic of Korea

and

Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2620; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032620 - 01 Feb 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1105

Abstract

The thermal environments of five local climate zones (LCZs) in summer were investigated using all measured microclimatic data collected from 9:00 on 3 August until 15:30 on 4 August, 2017. The physiological equivalent temperature (PET) and universal thermal climate index (UTCI) of the human thermal environment were highest in LCZ E_B (paved with scattered trees) and lowest in LCZ 2_B (compact mid-rise with scattered trees) and LCZ 4 (open high-rise) during the daytime, and highest in LCZ 4 and lowest in LCZ D (low plants) during the nighttime. LCZ D and LCZ E_B in the park and LCZ 5 (open mid-rise) revealed similar thermal environments, and LCZ 2_B and LCZ 4 showed higher PET and UTCI values for the thermal environment. The maximum mean difference by location was 6.7 °C for PET and 3.7 °C for UTCI during the daytime, a one-level difference in PET and a two-thirds level in UTCI. During the nighttime, the maximum mean difference was 2.3 °C for PET and 1.9 °C for UTCI, a one-third-level difference. Compared to LCZ 2_B, the PET showed a maximum difference of 11 °C and UTCI of 6 °C, showing a difference of two levels for PET and one level for UTCI. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Climate and Health)

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Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Investigating the Relationship between Climate and Hospital Admissions for Respiratory Diseases before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil

Eduardo L. Krüger

and

Anderson Spohr Nedel

Sustainability 2023, 15(1), 288; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010288 - 24 Dec 2022

Viewed by 1029

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze meteorological variables versus hospital admissions for respiratory diseases for the age groups of children under five and the elderly (over 65 years of age) in different climate regions of Brazil, for the years 2018 and 2020, i.e., before and after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the study was, on one hand, to evaluate the influence of weather variables on respiratory disease in humans, and on the other hand, take into account two years with differing dynamics due to a worldwide pandemic that significantly changed people’s lifestyles. The human biometeorological index (Universal Thermal Climate Index, UTCI) was used as representative of the integral association of meteorological variables. UTCI data were obtained from the ERA5-HEAT reanalysis database, which provides hourly grid data with a spatial resolution of 0.25° × 0.25°. The Brazilian cities Manaus, Brasilia and Porto Alegre, which represent different climatic contexts in the country, were used in the analysis. The method compared temperature and climate reanalysis data to hospital admission data for respiratory diseases, obtained from the Brazilian Unified Health System database (DATASUS), according to the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Edition (ICD-10). Correlation analysis was performed between variables (hospital admissions versus climate-related data) in order to identify associations between them, also accounting for different time-lag effects. We analyzed seasonal influences on the obtained correlations, correlation strength and direct or inverse relationships. Results showed that the pandemic interfered in the association between morbidity due to respiratory illnesses and climate-related variables. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Climate and Health)

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Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Urban Warming on the Mortality of Vulnerable Populations in Seoul

Jack Ngarambe

Mattheos Santamouris

and

Geun Young Yun

Sustainability 2022, 14(20), 13452; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013452 - 18 Oct 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 768

Abstract

Climate change influences urban mortality. The magnitude of such influences differs from locality to locality and is fundamentally driven by a facet of factors that include changes in local climatic conditions, demographics, and social-economic factors. Here, we employ regression and clustering methods to study linkages between mortality and local climatic changes in Seoul. Personal factors of the deceased (e.g., age and gender), social-economic factors (i.e., education level), and outdoor climatic factors, including heatwaves (HWs) and the urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon are considered in the analysis. We find that, among many elements of outdoor weather factors considered, the apparent temperature mostly correlated to daily mortalities; the mortality risk to apparent temperature exposure is more heightened for males (RR = 0.40, 95% CI; 0.23–0.54) than females (RR = 0.05, 95% CI; −0.10–0.20) at higher apparent temperatures (i.e., 60 °C). Furthermore, the influence of HWs on mortality is more apparent in the “Male” gender group and the “Above 65” age group. The results are useful in identifying vulnerable demographics amid the changing climate, especially in urban areas, and are fundamental in developing policies that promote climate resilience and adaptation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Climate and Health)

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