How Does Urban Form Explain Water Cooling Effect Heterogeneity: A Case Study in Wuhan, China

Water bodies in urban areas are considered to be natural and effective cooling factors that can help mitigate the urban heat island (UHI) effect. Previous studies highlighted the cooling effect is determined by the size and landscape of the water bodies. However, it is unclear how the urban form surrounding water bodies influences the water cooling effect received by human activity space. Using high resolution data and a multiple linear regression model, the effect of various 2D/3D urban form factors on the average water cooling intensity (AWCI) and water cooling intensity (WCI) at the fine scale were examined in Wuhan City on hot days. We further verified the spatial heterogeneity of the relationship between urban form factors and WCI according to the distance to and size of adjacent water bodies. The AWCI of the entire surrounding area were correlated with building morphology indicators. Urban form indicators effectively explained the variations of WCI at the fine scale, indicating that a mixture of large building volume density (BVD) with small building density (BD), and an aggregated impervious surface area (ISA) with a complex shape were conducive to WCI. Additionally, building morphology had a larger impact on the cooling effect around small water bodies and in the outer buffer area of water bodies. In comparison, the cooling effect of the area surrounding large water bodies was more affected by the landscape of the ISA. We therefore propose a differentiated urban planning strategy to take full use of the limited water cooling effect.