Zooming into temperature conditions in the city of Leipzig: How do urban built and green structures influence earth surface temperatures in the city?

Urban landscape and land-use structure, particularly that of built space, were found to have a significant impact on environmental exposures, e.g., on the level and spatial distribution of particle and noise exposure in cities. Climate change will increase the frequency, duration and intensity of heat waves. Hence, the question arises: how do urban structures affect the shape and intensity of urban temperature conditions? To answer this question, multiple urban structures have been quantified in terms of their structural patterns and configuration using the landscape metric (LSM) approach. The results of a linear regression analysis showed that both the edge density and patch size ratio are significantly correlated with the spread and intensity of temperatures across all urban built structures. The analysis shows that the higher the proportion and structural complexity of the built area, the higher are the morning and evening surface temperatures. LSMs were found to be very well suited as analysis models of the site-specific temperature impact beyond the aggregate city level. Hence, they may serve as a planning tool for urban adaptation measures to climate change.