Effect of Land Use/Cover Changes on Urban Cool Island Phenomenon in Seville, Spain

Abstract

This paper analyses Seville’s surface urban heat island (SUHI) phenomenon, comparing spatial and temporal patterns of land surface temperature (LST) during July 1987, 2000 and 2017. Landsat data captured throughout three July months were analyzed for the different years, techniques of geographic information systems, ecological variables and geospatial approaches and used to carry out the analysis. The results indicate that from 1987 to 2017, the averaged LST has increased by 9.1 °C in the studied area. The urban areas are colder than their surroundings, suggesting the role of baresoil and cultivated land in the reversal of the SUHI phenomenon. The results show that a fraction of green space has a high unstandardized coefficient (β) through the three time periods. A decreasing trend is also observed in the standardized β “fraction of impervious surface” in the three time periods. The linear regression analysis shows a negative relationship of mean LST with impervious surface fraction due to the presence of shadows projected by buildings, and a positive relationship with green space fraction caused by the influence of baresoil and cultivated land that inverts the LST behavior pattern. The study concludes that there is a need to implement SUHI mitigation strategies during the initial phases of engineering projects where the origin of this problem can be acted upon, since the process of creating streets and public space offers a valuable opportunity to restore the environmental quality and diminish the effects generated by climate change.