The Role of Urban Landscape elements Promoting Non-Motorized Transportation for Improving Microclimate Conditions in Humid Subtropical Cities

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-685-2_4How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Non-Motorized Transportation; Microclimate; Urban landscape; and Sustainable mobility

Abstract

Rapid urbanization and motorized transportation have significantly impacted urban microclimate conditions like degrading air quality, increasing surface temperature, and increasing heat stresses in urban cities. Microclimate conditions impact the adoption of non-motorized transportation [NMT], specifically in humid subtropical urban areas. This study explores the potential of urban landscape elements to improve microclimate conditions to enhance the NMT usage. The study identifies and explores the urban landscape elements that contribute towards thermal comfort and user experience for NMT users. The methodology combines systematic literature review, case studies, and thematic analysis. The study has a comparative analysis of three international cities: Chengdu [China], Taipei [Taiwan], and Brisbane [Australia]. By this integrated approach, landscape elements are classified into two broad domains: natural landscape elements & built landscape elements. The finding shows that natural elements, particularly street trees and continuous green corridors, have the greatest cooling potential [lowering ambient temperature by approximately 2-3 degrees Celsius through shading & evapotranspiration]. Whereas, built landscape elements, with permeable pavements and green drainage systems also play a significant role in improving surface thermal conditions by 1-2℃. Results also show that strategically combining these natural landscapes & built landscape elements generates cumulative cooling benefits of up to 7℃. This suggests that a thermally comfortable NMT route creates ecologically beneficial environments. The study underscores the importance of integrating microclimate-sensitive landscape design into NMT planning and broader urban mobility policies. Such intervention can support climate resilient urban development and promote sustainable, human-centered urban mobility systems suitable for humid subtropical climates.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Ar. Neelam Kumari
AU  - Puneet Sharma
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/26
TI  - The Role of Urban Landscape elements Promoting Non-Motorized Transportation for Improving Microclimate Conditions in Humid Subtropical Cities
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Infrastructure Development and Sustainability (ICIDS 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 43
EP  - 60
SN  - 3005-155X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-685-2_4
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-685-2_4
ID  - Kumari2026
ER  -