In the Haeundae area of Busan, South Korea, damage has continued to occur recently from building wind from caused by dense skyscrapers. Five wind observation stations were installed near LCT residential towers in Haeundae to analyze the effect of building winds during typhoon Omais. The impact of building wind was analyzed through relative and absolute evaluations. At an intersection located southeast of LCT (L-2), the strongest wind speed was measured during the monitoring. The maximum average wind speed for one minute was observed to be 38.93 m/s, which is about three times stronger than at an ocean observation buoy (12.7 m/s) at the same time. It is expected that 3 to 4 times stronger wind can be induced under certain conditions compared to the surrounding areas due to the building wind effect. In a Beaufort wind scale analysis, the wind speed at an ocean observatory was mostly distributed at Beaufort number 4, and the maximum was 8. At L-2, more than 50% of the wind speed exceeded Beaufort number 4, and numbers up to 12 were observed. However, since actual measurement has a limitation in analyzing the entire range, cross-validation with computational fluid dynamics simulation data is required to understand the characteristics of building winds.

High-rise buildings in cities adversely affect wind regimes by changing the air currents in their surrounding areas. In particular, extreme climate phenomena caused by climate change are stronger and more frequent, causing damage in cities. To better understand skyscraper wind behaviors around high-rise buildings, actual measurements are necessary to determine the environmental assessment of the wind effect. In this study, field measurements were performed with five anemometers at five points in the vicinity of a skyscraper called the LCT residential complex (411.6 m tall) surrounded by high-rise buildings in the coastal city of Busan, South Korea during Typhoon Hinnamnor. The gust was 3.7 times stronger, while the maximum 1-min mean wind speed was 3.1 times stronger than those measured at a nearby reference weather station operated by the Korean Meteorological Administration. The characteristics of downward and canyon winds were shown to depend on the spatiotemporal characteristics of the five points. The turbulence intensity declined as the wind speed increased and converged to a certain value. The gust factor also dropped as the wind speed increased and converged to 2.0, and was considered to be the parameter that best represents the intensity of instantaneous gust caused by the skyscraper wind effect. These results suggest that high-rise buildings should be designed with the consideration of gusts twice as strong as the average wind speed. In addition, field measurements should be accompanied in order to respond to the skyscraper wind effect.

Rapid urbanization and climate change have increased urban air temperatures and intensified the urban heat island effect through the expansion of impervious surfaces, loss of green areas, and high-density development. This study quantitatively evaluates the heat-mitigation performance and outdoor-thermal-comfort benefits of a high-pressure micro-mist cooling-fog system installed in the Oncheoncheon area of Busan, South Korea. Five environmental sensors were deployed in Gwajeong Park to monitor the near-pedestrian air temperature and relative humidity, and thermal comfort was assessed using the Universal Thermal Climate Index and the Physiological Equivalent Temperature derived from meteorological variables. Both indices indicated improved thermal comfort during fog operation relative to the control condition. The relationship between air temperature and perceived thermal conditions was strong, while the mean radiant temperature exhibited substantial dispersion even under similar air temperatures. Higher global horizontal irradiance (GHI: incoming solar radiation on a horizontal surface) was associated with elevated mean radiant temperature, highlighting the importance of radiative load in pedestrian thermal stress. Overall, the findings provide field-based evidence that high-pressure micro-misting can improve outdoor thermal comfort and function as practical cooling infrastructure for heat-stress mitigation and urban climate resilience.

The overcrowding of high-rise buildings in the city adversely affects the wind environment by changing the air currents in the surrounding areas. In particular, extreme climate phenomena caused by climate change are stronger and more frequent, causing social damages in cities. To comprehensively better understand the wind properties around high-rise buildings, actual filed measurement is necessary to determine the environment assessment of wind effect. We performed the on-site measurement on LCT residential complex regions (411.6m tall) with highly concentrated high-rise buildings in coastal city Busan, South Korea under extreme weather conditions such as typhoon invasions to determine wind fluid characteristics. In the field monitoring, five anemometers were installed to analyze the wind environment around high-rise buildings when typhoon 'Hinnamnor' invaded. Compared to the nearby weather station operated by KMA(Korea Meteorological Administration), the gust was 3.7 times stronger and the max 1 min-mean wind speed was 3.1 times stronger, and the characteristics of the downward wind and the canyon wind were shown depending on the location characteristics of the point. Turbulence intensity decreased as the wind speed increased and converged to a certain value. Likewise, the gust factor also decreased as the wind speed increased and converged to 2.0, which is considered to be the parameter that best represents the intensity of the instantaneous gust caused by the skyscraper wind effect.

Climate change and rapid urbanization are increasingly disrupting urban water cycles by intensifying runoff and reducing infiltration, particularly in watersheds designated for future development. However, most existing studies have focused on fully urbanized areas, with limited attention given to semi-rural or urban–rural transition watersheds at the planning stage. In this context, the Dawoon watershed in Ulsan, Republic of Korea, represents a critical case, as it is currently undeveloped but designated for large-scale urban expansion. This study evaluates the effectiveness of Low Impact Development (LID) strategies in restoring water-cycle soundness under anticipated urbanization conditions. A hydrological model of the Dawoon watershed was developed using the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM), and multiple land-use-specific LID scenarios were designed to reflect realistic planning-stage applications. Long-term simulations were conducted to assess changes in runoff, infiltration, evapotranspiration, and overall water-cycle performance. The results indicate that urban development substantially increases surface runoff while reducing infiltration and evapotranspiration. The integrated application of LID measures significantly mitigated these impacts, reducing total runoff by approximately 3% and improving the water cycle recovery rate to nearly 99%, restoring hydrological conditions close to the pre-development state. Among the evaluated scenarios, the combined implementation of vegetated swales, infiltration–storage basins, green roofs, and permeable pavements showed the highest effectiveness. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating LID strategies at the early stages of urban planning to enhance climate resilience and prevent long-term water cycle degradation. The proposed framework provides practical guidance for setting water-cycle management targets and selecting effective LID measures in developing or peri-urban watersheds.