[{"extern":"1","article_number":"111006","doi":"10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.111006","type":"journal_article","publication_identifier":{"eissn":["1873-684X"],"issn":["0360-1323"]},"title":"Effects of tree plantings with varying street aspect ratios on the thermal environment using a mechanistic urban canopy model","author":[{"full_name":"Chen, Taihan","last_name":"Chen","first_name":"Taihan"},{"first_name":"Naika","full_name":"Meili, Naika","last_name":"Meili"},{"first_name":"Simone","id":"cf8e546b-a9b0-11f0-a43b-aa89ed1b56d6","last_name":"Fatichi","full_name":"Fatichi, Simone"},{"first_name":"Jian","last_name":"Hang","full_name":"Hang, Jian"},{"last_name":"Tan","full_name":"Tan, Puay Yok","first_name":"Puay Yok"},{"full_name":"Yuan, Chao","last_name":"Yuan","first_name":"Chao"}],"publication":"Building and Environment","scopus_import":"1","quality_controlled":"1","date_created":"2026-07-27T12:30:24Z","article_processing_charge":"No","month":"12","language":[{"iso":"eng"}],"volume":246,"publication_status":"published","article_type":"original","fulldoi":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.111006","keyword":["Urban canopy model","Scaled outdoor experiment","Street aspect ratio","Urban vegetation","Pedestrian thermal comfort"],"date_published":"2023-12-01T00:00:00Z","OA_type":"closed access","abstract":[{"lang":"eng","text":"Urban tree planting is an effective strategy to reduce temperature locally and eventually mitigate Urban Heat\r\nIsland. Although its cooling effects have been widely reported, understanding of coupling effects of street\r\nmorphologies and tree characteristics on thermal environment is insufficient, especially in high-density cities. A\r\nparametric study is conducted to investigate effects of leaf area index (LAI = 1.0,2.0,3.0,4.0,5.0,6.0) and tree\r\ncrown radius (rtree = 2.0,3.4,4.4,5.0 m) on thermal environment inside streets with various aspect ratios (street\r\nheight/width, H/W = 1.0–5.0). A mechanistic urban canopy model Urban Tethys-Chloris (UT&C) is selected and\r\nintegrated with a new semi-empirical wind parameterization based on drag coefficients and frontal area densities\r\nof buildings and trees. Modified UT&C is validated by a unique and controllable scaled outdoor experiment. The\r\nresearch outputs can be summarized as follows: (1) Calculated air temperature (Ta), wind speed (V), and thermal\r\ncomfort indices (Mean Radiant Temperature (Tmrt) and Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI)) are in good\r\nagreement with results from scaled outdoor experiments, while slight overestimation of relative humidity (RH)\r\noccurs in tree cases; (2) Increasing LAI and rtree both bring stronger cooling effects by up to 20.2 ◦C (Tmrt) and\r\n4.0 ◦C (UTCI); (3) Narrower streets weaken trees’ cooling effects and increasing LAI and rtree could be less\r\nefficient for higher H/W than lower H/W; (4) LAI = 4.0 and rtree = 5.0 m are optimal for wide streets (H/W =\r\n1.0–3.0) to provide maximum UTCI cooling (about 4.0 ◦C), while LAI = 4.0 and rtree = 3.4 m are suggested for\r\nnarrow streets (H/W = 3.0–5.0). Our study provides useful information on evidence-based urban tree selection\r\nstrategies for urban planning and design. "}],"user_id":"ba8df636-2132-11f1-aed0-ed93e2281fdd","date_updated":"2026-08-12T08:37:07Z","intvolume":"       246","citation":{"chicago":"Chen, Taihan, Naika Meili, Simone Fatichi, Jian Hang, Puay Yok Tan, and Chao Yuan. “Effects of Tree Plantings with Varying Street Aspect Ratios on the Thermal Environment Using a Mechanistic Urban Canopy Model.” <i>Building and Environment</i>. Elsevier, 2023. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.111006\">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.111006</a>.","mla":"Chen, Taihan, et al. “Effects of Tree Plantings with Varying Street Aspect Ratios on the Thermal Environment Using a Mechanistic Urban Canopy Model.” <i>Building and Environment</i>, vol. 246, 111006, Elsevier, 2023, doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.111006\">10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.111006</a>.","short":"T. Chen, N. Meili, S. Fatichi, J. Hang, P.Y. Tan, C. Yuan, Building and Environment 246 (2023).","ama":"Chen T, Meili N, Fatichi S, Hang J, Tan PY, Yuan C. Effects of tree plantings with varying street aspect ratios on the thermal environment using a mechanistic urban canopy model. <i>Building and Environment</i>. 2023;246. doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.111006\">10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.111006</a>","ista":"Chen T, Meili N, Fatichi S, Hang J, Tan PY, Yuan C. 2023. Effects of tree plantings with varying street aspect ratios on the thermal environment using a mechanistic urban canopy model. Building and Environment. 246, 111006.","apa":"Chen, T., Meili, N., Fatichi, S., Hang, J., Tan, P. Y., &#38; Yuan, C. (2023). Effects of tree plantings with varying street aspect ratios on the thermal environment using a mechanistic urban canopy model. <i>Building and Environment</i>. Elsevier. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.111006\">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.111006</a>","ieee":"T. Chen, N. Meili, S. Fatichi, J. Hang, P. Y. Tan, and C. Yuan, “Effects of tree plantings with varying street aspect ratios on the thermal environment using a mechanistic urban canopy model,” <i>Building and Environment</i>, vol. 246. Elsevier, 2023."},"year":"2023","publisher":"Elsevier","das_tickbox":"1","day":"01","oa_version":"None","_id":"22561","status":"public"},{"intvolume":"       195","_id":"22457","status":"public","oa_version":"Published Version","day":"01","das_tickbox":"1","citation":{"apa":"Meili, N., Acero, J. A., Peleg, N., Manoli, G., Burlando, P., &#38; Fatichi, S. (2021). Vegetation cover and plant-trait effects on outdoor thermal comfort in a tropical city. <i>Building and Environment</i>. Elsevier. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.107733\">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.107733</a>","ieee":"N. Meili, J. A. Acero, N. Peleg, G. Manoli, P. Burlando, and S. Fatichi, “Vegetation cover and plant-trait effects on outdoor thermal comfort in a tropical city,” <i>Building and Environment</i>, vol. 195. Elsevier, 2021.","ista":"Meili N, Acero JA, Peleg N, Manoli G, Burlando P, Fatichi S. 2021. Vegetation cover and plant-trait effects on outdoor thermal comfort in a tropical city. Building and Environment. 195, 107733.","ama":"Meili N, Acero JA, Peleg N, Manoli G, Burlando P, Fatichi S. Vegetation cover and plant-trait effects on outdoor thermal comfort in a tropical city. <i>Building and Environment</i>. 2021;195. doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.107733\">10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.107733</a>","mla":"Meili, Naika, et al. “Vegetation Cover and Plant-Trait Effects on Outdoor Thermal Comfort in a Tropical City.” <i>Building and Environment</i>, vol. 195, 107733, Elsevier, 2021, doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.107733\">10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.107733</a>.","short":"N. Meili, J.A. Acero, N. Peleg, G. Manoli, P. Burlando, S. Fatichi, Building and Environment 195 (2021).","chicago":"Meili, Naika, Juan Angel Acero, Nadav Peleg, Gabriele Manoli, Paolo Burlando, and Simone Fatichi. “Vegetation Cover and Plant-Trait Effects on Outdoor Thermal Comfort in a Tropical City.” <i>Building and Environment</i>. Elsevier, 2021. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.107733\">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.107733</a>."},"year":"2021","publisher":"Elsevier","ddc":["550"],"OA_type":"hybrid","has_accepted_license":"1","date_published":"2021-05-01T00:00:00Z","article_type":"original","fulldoi":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.107733","tmp":{"image":"/images/cc_by.png","short":"CC BY (4.0)","legal_code_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode","name":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)"},"OA_place":"publisher","date_updated":"2026-07-30T09:12:50Z","user_id":"2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87","abstract":[{"text":"An increase in urban vegetation is an often proposed mitigation strategy to reduce urban heat and improve outdoor thermal comfort (OTC). Vegetation can alter urban microclimate through changes in air temperature, mean radiant temperature, humidity, and wind speed. In this study, we model how street tree and ground vegetation cover and their structural, optical, interception, and physiological traits control the diurnal cycle of OTC in different urban densities in a tropical city (Singapore). For this purpose, we perform a variance based sensitivity analysis of the urban ecohydrological model UT&C. Model performance is evaluated through a comparison with local microclimate measurements and OTC is assessed with the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI).\r\nWe find a pronounced daily cycle of vegetation effects on UTCI. Tree cover fraction is more efficient in decreasing UTCI during daytime, while a higher vegetated ground fraction provides more cooling during night. Generally, increasing vegetation cover fractions do not deter OTC, except in certain urban densities during some periods of the day. An increase in tree and ground vegetation fractions provides a higher average UTCI reduction compared to a change in vegetation traits (0.9 – 2.9  °C vs. 0.7 – 1.1  °C during midday, 10 month average). The increase in humidity related to plant transpiration prevents further reduction of UTCI. However, the choice of vegetation traits enhancing tree transpiration can decrease UTCI during hot periods. These results can inform urban planners on the selection of vegetation amount and traits to achieve feasible OTC improvements in tropical cities.","lang":"eng"}],"date_created":"2026-07-27T12:30:23Z","article_processing_charge":"No","quality_controlled":"1","volume":195,"language":[{"iso":"eng"}],"publication_status":"published","month":"05","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","publication_identifier":{"issn":["0360-1323"]},"oa":1,"title":"Vegetation cover and plant-trait effects on outdoor thermal comfort in a tropical city","doi":"10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.107733","main_file_link":[{"open_access":"1","url":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.107733"}],"type":"journal_article","article_number":"107733","extern":"1","scopus_import":"1","publication":"Building and Environment","author":[{"first_name":"Naika","last_name":"Meili","full_name":"Meili, Naika"},{"first_name":"Juan Angel","last_name":"Acero","full_name":"Acero, Juan Angel"},{"first_name":"Nadav","last_name":"Peleg","full_name":"Peleg, Nadav"},{"first_name":"Gabriele","last_name":"Manoli","full_name":"Manoli, Gabriele"},{"full_name":"Burlando, Paolo","last_name":"Burlando","first_name":"Paolo"},{"first_name":"Simone","full_name":"Fatichi, Simone","last_name":"Fatichi","id":"cf8e546b-a9b0-11f0-a43b-aa89ed1b56d6"}]}]