Rapid urbanization has led to drastic land-use/cover changes (LUCCs) and urban heat islands (UHIs), negatively altering the urban climate and air quality. LUCC’s significant impacts on human health and energy consumption have inspired researchers to develop nature-based solutions to mitigate UHIs and improve air quality. However, integrating GIS-CFD modeling for urban heat mitigation towards climate change adaptation was largely neglected for eco-sustainable urban design in rapidly urbanizing areas. In this study, (1) long-term LUCC and meteorological analysis were conducted in the Wuhan metropolitan area from 1980 to 2016; (2) to mitigate the adverse effects of LUCC under a speedy development process, the role and relevance of optimizing building morphology and urban block configuration were discussed; (3) and particular design attention in strategy towards climate change adaptation for environmental performance improvement was paid in Wuhan’s fast-growing zones. The results show that UHII in 1980 was less severe than in 2016. Air temperature (Ta) increased by 0.4 °C on average per decade in developing areas. This increases the severity of UHII in urban fringes. It is found obligatory for a nature-based design to adopt urban morphology indicators (UMIs) such as average building height (μBH), sky view factors (ψ_SVF), and building density (BD/λ_p = % of built area) towards these changes. Further, on-site measurement revealed that λ_p is the most effective indicator for increasing urban heat around the buildings and boosting UHII. Using UMIs and a combined three-in-one regulation strategy based on μBH of common building types of high-rise (BH^A), mid-rise (BH^B), and low-rise (BH^C) buildings can effectively contribute to regulating Ta and air movement within block configuration. As a result of this study’s strategy, urban heat is mitigated via reinforcing wind in order to adapt to climate change, which impacts the quality of life directly in developing areas.

This research addresses the urgent challenges posed by rapid urbanization and climate change through an integrated interdisciplinary approach combining advanced technologies with rigorous scientific exploration. The comprehensive analysis focused on Wuhan, China, spanning decades of meteorological and land-use data to trace extreme urbanization trajectories and reveal intricate temporal and spatial patterns. Employing the innovative 360° radial Fibonacci geometric growth framework, the study facilitated a meticulous dissection of urban morphology at granular scales, establishing a model that combined fixed and mobile observational techniques to uncover climatic shifts and spatial transformations. Geographic information systems and computational fluid dynamics were pivotal tools used to explore the intricate interplay between urban structures and their environments. These analyses elucidated the nuanced impact of diverse morphosectors on local conditions. Furthermore, genetic algorithms were harnessed to distill meaningful relationships from the extensive data collected, optimizing spatial arrangements to enhance urban resilience and sustainability. This pioneering interdisciplinary approach not only illuminates the complex dynamics of urban ecosystems but also offers transformative insights for designing smarter, more adaptable cities. The findings underscore the critical role of green spaces in mitigating urban heat island effects. This highlights the imperative for sustainable urban planning to address the multifaceted challenges of the 21st century, promoting long-term environmental sustainability and urban health, particularly in the context of tomorrow’s climate-adaptive smart cities.

Purpose: Vision, audition, olfactory, tactile and taste are five important senses that human uses to interact with the real world. As facing more and more complex environments, a sensing system is essential for intelligent robots with various types of sensors. To mimic human-like abilities, sensors similar to human perception capabilities are indispensable. However, most research only concentrated on analyzing literature on single-modal sensors and their robotics application. Design/methodology/approach: This study presents a systematic review of five bioinspired senses, especially considering a brief introduction of multimodal sensing applications and predicting current trends and future directions of this field, which may have continuous enlightenments. Findings: This review shows that bioinspired sensors can enable robots to better understand the environment, and multiple sensor combinations can support the robot’s ability to behave intelligently. Originality/value: The review starts with a brief survey of the biological sensing mechanisms of the five senses, which are followed by their bioinspired electronic counterparts. Their applications in the robots are then reviewed as another emphasis, covering the main application scopes of localization and navigation, objection identification, dexterous manipulation, compliant interaction and so on. Finally, the trends, difficulties and challenges of this research were discussed to help guide future research on intelligent robot sensors.