Understanding the relationship between different essential urban land use categories and the urban thermal environment is essential for urban planning, resource allocation and decision support. However, most of the spatiotemporal correlations between land use types and LST are focused on industrial land use and urban green space, and there are fewer discussions on the totality of urban land use types. Here, using multi-source remote sensing images, correlation analysis and the stepwise regression method, we elaborate the relationship between landscape structure and land surface temperature (LST) across the different seasons of 850 planning management units in Jiaozuo, China. Our results show that the degree of explanation of surface temperature by landscape structure increased with a fine division of land use. The imprint of urban–rural gradients on LST was largely masked by the land use categories at the regional scales. Moreover, the tridimensional structure of buildings significantly affected the LST of residential regions, and the large number of low-rise buildings in urban planning practice contributes to high LSTs. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the effects of each land use type and landscape structure on surface temperature in urban space and also provides strategies and methods for urban planning in rapidly developing regions of the country.

The effect of urbanization on the urban thermal environment (UTE) has attracted increasing research attention because its significant effects on local weather and climate, and serious consequences for people. However, systematic study of the relationship between urbanization and UTE has been undertaken only to a limited extent. Using quantitative thermal remote sensing and multi-buffer ring method and multiple spatial scales method, here we analyze Landsat TM/ETM+ images of Zhengzhou in Central China acquired on four different dates in 2017 to investigate the spatiotemporal variations, trends, and driving force in the land surface temperature (LST). Our results showed that LST generally increased with urbanization intensity. This trend was extremely obvious in spring and summer, weak in winter, and slightly downward in autumn. Moreover, PLAND (e.g., percentage of impervious surface in a landscape) has the most significant effect on urban LST, and generally increases as the spatial scale becomes larger. In conclusion, the study recommends that urban planning in Zhengzhou should prioritize PLAND, especially at large spatial scales. These results provide a scientific reference for urban planners who are committed to the sustainable development of Zhengzhou City.

Greenscaping, a key sustainable practice, helps cities combat rising temperatures and climate change. Urban parks, a pivotal greenscaping element, mitigate the urban heat island (UHI) effect. In this study, we utilized high-resolution remote sensing imagery (GF-2 and Landsat 8, 9) and in situ measurements to analyze the seasonal thermal regulation of different park types in Zhengzhou, China. We calculated vegetation characteristic indices (VCIs) and landscape patterns (LMs) and employed boosted regression tree models to explore their relative contributions to land surface temperature (LST) across different seasons. Our findings revealed that urban parks lowered temperatures by 0.65 °C, 1.41 °C, and 2.84 °C in spring, summer, and autumn, respectively, but raised them by 1.92 °C in winter. Amusement parks, comprehensive parks, large parks, and water-themed parks had significantly lower LSTs. The VCI significantly influenced LST in autumn, with trees having a stronger cooling effect than shrubs. LMs showed a more prominent effect than VCIs on LST during spring, summer, and winter. Parks with longer perimeters, larger and more dispersed green patches, higher plant species richness, higher vegetation heights, and larger canopies were associated with more efficient thermal reduction in an urban setting. The novelty of this study lies in its detailed analysis of the seasonal thermal regulation effects of different types of urban parks, providing new insights for more effective urban greenspace planning and management. Our findings assist urban managers in mitigating the urban surface heat effect through more effective urban greenspace planning, vegetation community design, and maintenance, thereby enhancing cities’ potential resilience to climate change.

Urban parks can mitigate the urban heat island (UHI) and effectively improve the urban microclimate. In addition, quantifying the park land surface temperature (LST) and its relationship with park characteristics is crucial for guiding park design in practical urban planning. The study’s primary purpose is to investigate the relationship between LST and landscape features in different park categories based on high-resolution data. In this study, we identified the land cover types of 123 parks in Luoyang using WorldView-2 data and selected 26 landscape pattern indicators to quantify the park landscape characteristics. The result shows that the parks can alleviate UHI in most seasons, but some can increase it in winter. While the percentage of bare land, PD, and PAFRAC have a positive impact on LST, AREA_MN has a significant negative impact. However, to deal with the current urban warming trend, a compact, clustered landscape configuration is required. This study provides an understanding of the major factors affecting the mitigation of thermal effects in urban parks (UP) and establishes a practical and feasible urban park renewal method under the idea of climate adaptive design, which provides valuable inspiration for urban park planning and design.