32
awareness of the potential role of UGI to address climate change challenges, their
inclusion in plans at the urban level often lacks sufficient baseline information
(Geneletti and Zardo 2016). UGI may be very different in nature, including typologies such as parks, gardens, forests, green roofs and walls, and rivers (Naumann
et al. 2011; Pauleit et al. 2011; EEA 2012). In turn, each typology may differ in key
components (e.g. soil cover, tree canopy cover, size and shape), thus providing different ES, with different capacity (Bolund and Hunhammar 1999; Chang et al.
2007; de Groot et al. 2010; Bowler et al. 2010b).
This chapter presents an approach for estimating the cooling capacity provided
by UGI tailored to support urban planning. The proposed approach, by providing
guidance for UGI planning and design, is expected to support urban planners in
effectively including the design and enhancement of UGI into the planning practice
as a measure to cool cities and combat urban heat islands. In the remainder of the
chapter, the approach is described, and applied to the city of Amsterdam, The
Netherlands.
4.2 Methods to Assess the Cooling Capacity of UGI
As shown in Fig. 4.1, the proposed approach consists of five main steps. As a first
step, the ecosystem functions of UGI that determine the cooling capacity are identified, following the cascade model (Haines-Young and Potschin 2010). Hence, the
components associated to such ecosystem functions are defined, and their individual
contribution to the cooling capacity assessed. Subsequently, the contributions are
aggregate to determine the overall cooling capacity of the UGI. More specifically,
the cooling capacity and the associated change in temperature are assessed for a set
of UGI typologies, consisting of different combinations of tree canopy coverage,
soil cover, and size. The proposed approach is based on an extensive analysis of the
literature to determine the cooling capacity of UGI in three different climatic
regions: Atlantic region, Continental region and Mediterranean region, as defined
according to the classification of climate regions by the European Topic Center on
Biological Diversity (ETC/BD 2006).
Shading, evapotranspiration (ETA) and wind shielding are the three ecosystem
functions that determine the cooling capacity of UGI (EEA 2012; Gómez-Baggethun
and Barton 2013; McPhearson et al. 2013; Smith et al. 2013; Larondelle and Haase
2013). In fact, vegetation regulates urban micro-climate in three ways: (i) by intercepting incoming solar radiation (shading), (ii) through the process of evapotranspiration, and (iii) by altering air movement and heat exchange. Shading and
evapotranspiration are the ones that contribute the most to the cooling effect of UGI
(Skelhorn et al. 2014). The contribution of wind to cooling capacity assessments, on
the other hand, is rather complex to consider given its dependency on case-specific
conditions (e.g. presence of buildings and directions of streets), that are not directly
linked to ecosystem functions or components of UGI (Bowler et al. 2010b). Shading
and evapotranspiration are determined by the structure of the ecosystem, i.e., the
4 Developing Ecosystem Service Models for Urban Planning: A Focus…
awareness of the potential role of UGI to address climate change challenges, their
inclusion in plans at the urban level often lacks sufficient baseline information
(Geneletti and Zardo 2016). UGI may be very different in nature, including typologies such as parks, gardens, forests, green roofs and walls, and rivers (Naumann
et al. 2011; Pauleit et al. 2011; EEA 2012). In turn, each typology may differ in key
components (e.g. soil cover, tree canopy cover, size and shape), thus providing different ES, with different capacity (Bolund and Hunhammar 1999; Chang et al.
2007; de Groot et al. 2010; Bowler et al. 2010b).
This chapter presents an approach for estimating the cooling capacity provided
by UGI tailored to support urban planning. The proposed approach, by providing
guidance for UGI planning and design, is expected to support urban planners in
effectively including the design and enhancement of UGI into the planning practice
as a measure to cool cities and combat urban heat islands. In the remainder of the
chapter, the approach is described, and applied to the city of Amsterdam, The
Netherlands.
4.2 Methods to Assess the Cooling Capacity of UGI
As shown in Fig. 4.1, the proposed approach consists of five main steps. As a first
step, the ecosystem functions of UGI that determine the cooling capacity are identified, following the cascade model (Haines-Young and Potschin 2010). Hence, the
components associated to such ecosystem functions are defined, and their individual
contribution to the cooling capacity assessed. Subsequently, the contributions are
aggregate to determine the overall cooling capacity of the UGI. More specifically,
the cooling capacity and the associated change in temperature are assessed for a set
of UGI typologies, consisting of different combinations of tree canopy coverage,
soil cover, and size. The proposed approach is based on an extensive analysis of the
literature to determine the cooling capacity of UGI in three different climatic
regions: Atlantic region, Continental region and Mediterranean region, as defined
according to the classification of climate regions by the European Topic Center on
Biological Diversity (ETC/BD 2006).
Shading, evapotranspiration (ETA) and wind shielding are the three ecosystem
functions that determine the cooling capacity of UGI (EEA 2012; Gómez-Baggethun
and Barton 2013; McPhearson et al. 2013; Smith et al. 2013; Larondelle and Haase
2013). In fact, vegetation regulates urban micro-climate in three ways: (i) by intercepting incoming solar radiation (shading), (ii) through the process of evapotranspiration, and (iii) by altering air movement and heat exchange. Shading and
evapotranspiration are the ones that contribute the most to the cooling effect of UGI
(Skelhorn et al. 2014). The contribution of wind to cooling capacity assessments, on
the other hand, is rather complex to consider given its dependency on case-specific
conditions (e.g. presence of buildings and directions of streets), that are not directly
linked to ecosystem functions or components of UGI (Bowler et al. 2010b). Shading
and evapotranspiration are determined by the structure of the ecosystem, i.e., the
4 Developing Ecosystem Service Models for Urban Planning: A Focus…