Mitigating urban heat island effects of high density cities: a study at Hong Kong

Abstract

Firstly, from the perspective of the high density urban climate and planning, this paper reports a case study in Hong Kong to reveal the relationship between Urban Heat Island and Urban Morphology. Meanwhile, employing the ArcGIS, this paper conducts a parametric study to clarify how urban morphologies affect Sky View Factor. The study found that by carefully controlling the site coverage and building height, Sky View Factor could be effectively increased to mitigate the UHI within the high density living environment, without decreasing the development efficiency of the land. It could be a good reference for urban planners and governments.