Despite growing research on green space and health benefits, the body of evidence remains heterogeneous and unclear. A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with high evidence levels are deemed timely. We searched Scopus, PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science for the literature up to January 2022 and assessed bias using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool 2.0. We calculated joint impact estimates for each green space exposure assessment technique using random and fixed effects models. Compared to non-green space situations, green space exposure was related to decreased negative feelings, such as fatigue −0.84 (95% CI: −1.15 to −0.54), and increased levels of pleasant emotions, such as vitality 0.85 (95% CI: 0.52 to 1.18). It also lowered physiological indicators, including heart rate levels, by 0.60 (95% CI: −0.90 to −0.31). Effect sizes were large and statistically significant, and the overall quality of the evidence was good. Existing RCTs on greenspace exposure pay insufficient attention to older and adolescent populations, different ethnic groups, different regions, and doses of greenspace exposure interventions. More research is needed to understand how and how much green space investment has the most restorative benefits and guide urban green space planning and renewal.

Traditional shophouse neighbourhoods (TSNs) in southern China respond well to the local hot and humid climate through proper street configurations and the integration of different shading strategies. Investigating the impact of shading strategies and configurations in TSNs on outdoor thermal comfort is valuable for guiding current urban design. Three street canyons in a TSN of Guangzhou with different shading strategies were selected as basic cases for microclimatic measurement in the summer season, i.e., alleys, streets with arcade for pedestrians, and streets with high-density greenery. After validating their simulation models in ENVI-met, five groups of parametric simulations were generated by varying the canyon aspect ratio (CHW), the canyon axis orientation, arcade proportion (AHW), and the tree-covered area (TCA). Using the physiological equivalent temperature (PET) to assess the above results, the correlative impact of different variations on pedestrian’s thermal comfort and their corresponding favourable ranges are summarized. The findings suggest that: (a) only in alleys and arcade streets, the pedestrian-level thermal comfort was significantly influenced by canyon axis orientation. (b) The thermal stress for pedestrians increased dramatically when the CHW was lower than 1.5 in alleys and 0.78 in boulevards (in TCA = 89%), while the CHW higher than 1 indicated a remarkable reduction on the PET for pedestrians in arcades. (c) The pedestrians started losing the protection from shading strategy to thermal stress when the AHW was higher than 1.33 (in canyon with CHW = 1) or the TCA was lower than 33% (in canyon with CHW = 0.78).

High-density urban development areas have several problems associated with them, such as the formation of urban heat islands, traffic noise, and air pollution. To minimize these problems, the green façades (GFs), which are used to guide climbing plants to grow vertically on building facade, are focused on by researchers and architects. This study focuses on GF application strategies and their optimizations for thermal comfort in a transitional space in a hot-humid climate. First, field measurements were collected from GF projects located in Guangzhou, China, in summer 2017. Second, a simulation method using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used to investigate the thermal effects of the GF’s foliage. Finally, seven GF typologies and one unshaded comparison model were used for simulations in three scenarios with south, east, and west orientations and compared to evaluate the effects of GFs on the thermal environment of the transitional space. The results of field measurements reveal that the GF reduced average Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET) by 2.54 °C, and that of CFD simulations reveal that three typologies of GFs are more effective in regulating the thermal environment in the summer. The results of this research provide support for further studies on the thermal effectiveness and design options of GFs for human comfort.

In response to the problem of high-density urbanism and urban heat island (UHI), vertical greenery system (VGS) applying in building design and construction is regarded as one of the solutions. Green Faç ade (GF), with the climber plants growing on the building faç ade, is one branch technology of VGS. This research is focused on the shading effect and the heat reflection performance of the GF in Hot humid Climate Area. A high-rise residential project with the GFs on east and south faç ade is chosen to measure and analyze. Results reveal that the air Ave. temperature (Temp) shading by the GFs in sunny days is reduced by 0.6℃(E) and 0.7℃(S), and the Max. reduction is up to 3.2℃(E) and 3.8℃(S). The surface Ave. Temp of GF is reduced 4.7℃ comparing to the bare wall, and the Ave. Temp of the whole faç ade is decreased about 3-4℃ with GFs. This research has proved the effects of GFs and also show the GFs' potentials for energy reduction and urban heat environment improvement.

This study investigated the potential of using a nonuniform woven panel with nonuniform strips—thick sticks and thin battens—as an external solar shading screen that addressed daylighting, shading, and mechanical performance factors. The sustainable material, namely, bamboo, was used as the demonstration material for the screen. An on-site experiment and ANSYS simulation were carried out to investigate the basic solar optical performance and structural strength of the proposed screen, respectively. Then, a series of daylighting simulations were conducted to optimize the configuration of the screen. The results showed that the nonuniform woven solar shading screen reduced up to 80.3% of the solar radiation gain in a room during summer months while ensuring a relatively even distribution of useful daylight during the year. Moreover, the screen effectively reduced the negative impact of glare to a level below “imperceptible” and enabled a relatively clear view through the window and shading. Regarding the structural strength, the screen with a size smaller than or equal to 1 × 1 m withstood a wind load of 12 m/s. Furthermore, this study proposed two optimal configurations: a screen woven of square sticks and battens with a distance of 10 mm between them, and a screen woven of round sticks and battens with a distance of 8 mm between them. This study illustrated the superiority of the nonuniform woven solar shading screens, which supports a wider application of solar shading screens made of other materials with similar structures and reflectance values.

Typhoon, as one of the extreme climatic disasters, attacks the southeast coastal cities in China every year. To countermeasure the risk of a typhoon on urban tree safety, we established a cooperation research team including professions on urban design and city planning, wind engineering, and tree health assessment and management. This paper presents some statistical studies on the data of the damaged urban trees causing by the typhoons in Guangzhou and some other cities in Pearl River Delta (PRD), China in 2016 - 2018. The data of the damaged trees is imported in a geographic information system (GIS) database and a local climate zone (LCZ) map to analyze the distribution of damaged trees in different urban morphologies and underlying surface patterns. Results show a series of high-risk tree species such as Ficus microcarpa, Ficus virens var.sublanceolata, and Bauhinia variegate in typhoons. Then, six LCZ typologies and four main typologies of urban space are figured out basing on the statistical analysis of the damaged trees. Preliminary results reveal that some kinds of tree species and urban space are at a higher risk level during the typhoons. Current works will support the research on urban tree management, risk management and forecasting, urban planning, and landscape design.