Analysis of Thermal Environment of Waterfront Space in Summer in Mountain City: A case study in Chongqing, China

Abstract

A crucial component of the urban ecology, waterfront space plays a key role in mitigating the urban heat island effect. However, waterfront spaces in mountain cities differ greatly from those in plain cities in terms of spatial form and environmental factors. Accordingly, it is urgent to study and improve the thermal environment of waterfront spaces in mountain cities. According to the spatial morphological characteristics and shading means of the waterfront space in Chongqing, a typical mountain city in China, the summer thermal environment of the waterfront space has been studied through field measurements. The outdoor thermal environment factors assessed include air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and mean radiation temperature. The results showed that the cooling effect was more significant at 1 m from the water's edge and decreased as the elevation increased. Air temperature and humidity showed a clear stratification characteristic with increasing elevation. At the same time, viaduct-shading was the most effective way of reducing heat stress, followed by the combined shading of sun sails with building-shading, while tree-shading was the least. This study offers basic data for further study and optimization of shading strategies for waterfront spaces in mountain communities.