Evolution of microclimate effect of an urban park over their built environment

Abstract

Arid cities suffer the effects of urban heat island (UHI), with negative impacts on the environment, people and economies. Urban greening is a strategy for mitigating UHI. However, vegetation demands high scarce resources in cities on dry land. Hence, it is necessary to rethink the relationship between green spaces and its surrounding built environment. This work´s objective is to evaluate the impact of Mendoza´s Parque Central (Argentina) on the air temperatures of its built environment, taking as a measure the park cool island intensity (PCI) in the 2007-2017 period. Parque Central has a strategic value for the urban development of a residential area with a medium to high construction density. Methodologically, two monitoring campaigns were carried out during the summer periods of 2007-2008 and 2016-2017. In each campaign, temperature and relative humidity sensors were installed in the area. Satellite images from Landsat 7 were analyzed and the NDVI and NDBI indices were determined. The results indicate that over 10 seasons, the park’s maximum NDVI has increased more than 8 times, while the maximum PCI intensities have increased 2.31 times.