The variation between land surface temperature (LST) within a city and its surrounding area is a result of variations in surface cover, thermal capacity and three-dimensional geometry. The objective of this research is to review the state of knowledge and current research to quantify surface urban heat islands (SUHI) and surface urban cool islands (SUCI). In order to identify open issues and gaps remaining in this field, we review research on SUHI/SUCI, the models for simulating UHIs/UCIs and techniques used in this field were appraised. The appraisal has revealed some great progress made in surface UHI mapping of cities located in humid and vegetated (temperate) regions, whilst few studies have investigated the spatiotemporal variation of surface SUHI/SUCI and the effect of land use/land cover (LULC) change on LST in arid and semi-arid climates. While some progress has been made, models for simulating UHI/UCI have been advancing only slowly. We conclude and suggest that SUHI/SUCI in arid and semi-arid areas requires more in-depth study.

Walking through street markets is the most popular outdoor activity in Thailand, promoting local economies and tourism. In the year-round hot and humid conditions, living outdoors with long heat exposure throughout the midday can result in heat-related illness. Artificial shade structures and tree shade canopies are typical cooling strategies to protect market sellers and pedestrians from direct sun exposure and improve outdoor human thermal comfort in the street market. This study investigates microclimate conditions and cooling benefits of typical street market shade structures with different settings—three roofing materials, two roof shapes, and surrounding trees with dense and sparse canopies. The dimension of the single artificial shade was 2 m × 2 m with heights varying 2–2.5 m. The vertical air temperature and sky view factor profiles were measured on winter and summer days. The calculated physiological equivalent temperatures (PET) and thermal comfortable hours beneath different shade structures were assessed using RayMan 1.2 software. A cluster of trees with a dense canopy provided more effective cooling (with a satisfied thermal condition of 9 h) than artificial shade structures. Thermal conditions under the galvanized steel roofing and HDPE tarpaulin plastic roofing shades were cooler than those of polycarbonate roofing shade. Meanwhile, the space beneath the sparse tree canopy had the warmest condition. The temperature reductions beneath the artificial shade structure varied throughout the day, with the maximum reduction occurring during midday and the lowest reduction found in the late morning and late afternoon. Our study demonstrates that the tree canopies and artificial shade structures had limited application for providing comfortable conditions throughout midday. To reduce such extreme heat, a combination of shade structures with other cooling techniques is suggested, which should be the focus for further studies.