{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,19]],"date-time":"2026-02-19T03:11:04Z","timestamp":1771470664194,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,30]],"date-time":"2025-10-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1761782400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Land"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Colombo, a rapidly urbanizing city, increasingly faces the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect due to urban expansion and climate change. Urban parks mitigate UHI by creating cool microclimates, quantified as Park Cool Island Intensity (PCII), the temperature difference between parks and surrounding areas. Colombo exhibits an average cooling effect of 0.98 \u00b0C \u00b1\u00a00.21%. The results found that the park area has the most significant positive relationship with the PCII, where the model explained 87.7% of the variance (R2 = 0.877), indicating a strong fit, following the park perimeter (R2 = 0.811). Park vegetation characteristics exert a significant influence to enhance the cooling effect, with canopy density emerging as a primary factor with a variance of 87.1% (R2 = 0.871). Notably, canopy density of more than 80% demonstrates a marked PCII exceeding 1.0 \u00b0C. Additionally, other vegetation attributes, tree basal area (R2 = 0.868), tree height (R2 = 0.784), DBH (R2 = 0.757), and stem density (R2 = 0.717), exhibit a significant positive correlation with PCII, following canopy density in descending order. Furthermore, park composition analysis reveals that higher water and green cover contribute to maximizing PCII, underscoring the importance of reducing impervious cover in urban park design. These findings provide valuable insights for urban planners in facilitating the development of more effective urban park designs aimed at maximizing cooling effects, promoting sustainable urban development, and contributing to the achievement of SDG 11 and SDG 13.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/land14112164","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,31]],"date-time":"2025-10-31T02:48:28Z","timestamp":1761878908000},"page":"2164","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Planning Sustainable Green Blue Infrastructure in Colombo to Optimize Park Cool Island Intensity"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-4108-0527","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"A. A. S. G.","family":"Wijesundara","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Zoology and Environmental Management, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, No. 218, Kandy Road, Kelaniya 11600, Sri Lanka"},{"name":"Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, No. 218, Kandy Road, Kelaniya 11600, Sri Lanka"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4823-3068","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"B. G. N.","family":"Sewwandi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Zoology and Environmental Management, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, No. 218, Kandy Road, Kelaniya 11600, Sri Lanka"},{"name":"Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, No. 218, Kandy Road, Kelaniya 11600, Sri Lanka"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8073-2097","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Thomas","family":"Panagopoulos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1921","DOI":"10.1007\/s10980-017-0561-4","article-title":"The impact of urbanization and climate change on urban temperatures: A systematic review","volume":"32","author":"Chapman","year":"2017","journal-title":"Landsc. Ecol."},{"key":"ref_2","first-page":"67","article-title":"Urban Heat Island: Causes, Effects and Mitigation Measures\u2014A Review","volume":"67","author":"Nuruzzaman","year":"2015","journal-title":"Int. J. Environ. Monit. Anal."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tella, J.L., Hern, D., Blanco, G., and Hiraldo, F. (2020). Urban Sprawl, Food Subsidies and Power Lines: An Ecological Trap for Large Frugivorous Bats in Sri Lanka?. Diversity, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/d12030094"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"525","DOI":"10.1007\/s10584-013-0936-8","article-title":"Interactions between urbanization, heat stress, and climate change","volume":"129","author":"Oleson","year":"2015","journal-title":"Clim. Change"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"407","DOI":"10.1016\/j.uclim.2014.03.004","article-title":"Adapting cities to climate change: A systemic modelling approach","volume":"10","author":"Masson","year":"2014","journal-title":"Urban Clim."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Fonseka, H.P.U., Zhang, H., Sun, Y., Su, H., Lin, H., and Lin, Y. (2019). Urbanization and its impacts on land surface temperature in Colombo Metropolitan Area, Sri Lanka, from 1988 to 2016. Remote Sens., 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs11080957"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"012038","DOI":"10.1088\/1755-1315\/1129\/1\/012038","article-title":"Urban heat islands: A review of contributing factors, effects and data","volume":"1129","author":"Jabbar","year":"2023","journal-title":"IOP Conf. Ser. Earth Environ. Sci."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Han, Q., Nan, X., Wang, H., Hu, Y., Bao, Z., and Yan, H. (2023). Optimizing the Surrounding Building Configuration to Improve the Cooling Ability of Urban Parks on Surrounding Neighborhoods. Atmosphere, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/atmos14060914"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"189","DOI":"10.1002\/fee.1480","article-title":"Biodiversity in the city: Key challenges for urban green space management","volume":"15","author":"Aronson","year":"2017","journal-title":"Front. Ecol. Environ."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"212","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ufug.2017.11.013","article-title":"Evaluation of green infrastructure effects on tropical Sri Lankan urban context as an urban heat island adaptation strategy","volume":"29","author":"Herath","year":"2018","journal-title":"Urban For. Urban Green."},{"key":"ref_11","first-page":"231","article-title":"The Benefits of Urban Parks, a Review of Urban Research","volume":"2","author":"Sadeghian","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Nov. Appl. Sci."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Irfeey, A.M.M., Chau, H.W., Sumaiya, M.M.F., Wai, C.Y., Muttil, N., and Jamei, E. (2023). Sustainable Mitigation Strategies for Urban Heat Island Effects in Urban Areas. Sustainability, 15.","DOI":"10.3390\/su151410767"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"417","DOI":"10.3934\/environsci.2019.6.417","article-title":"Effects of internal and external planning factors on park cooling intensity: Field measurement of urban parks in gold coast, Australia","volume":"6","author":"Zhang","year":"2019","journal-title":"AIMS Environ. Sci."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"137","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envpol.2015.07.038","article-title":"Urban planning with respect to environmental quality and human well-being","volume":"208","author":"Panagopoulos","year":"2016","journal-title":"Environ. Pollut."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wang, X., Cheng, H., Xi, J., Yang, G., and Zhao, Y. (2018). Relationship between park composition, vegetation characteristics and cool island effect. Sustainability, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/su10030587"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"868","DOI":"10.3390\/f4040868","article-title":"Estimation of the relationship between urban park characteristics and park cool island intensity by remote sensing data and field measurement","volume":"4","author":"Ren","year":"2013","journal-title":"Forests"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"126624","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ufug.2020.126624","article-title":"Tourist perceptions and uses of urban green infrastructure: An exploratory cross-cultural investigation","volume":"49","author":"Terkenli","year":"2020","journal-title":"Urban For. Urban Green."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"126959","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ufug.2020.126959","article-title":"Perceptions of park visitors on access to urban parks and benefits of green spaces","volume":"57","author":"Basu","year":"2021","journal-title":"Urban For. Urban Green."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101864","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scs.2019.101864","article-title":"The roles of landscape both inside the park and the surroundings in park cooling effect","volume":"52","author":"Qiu","year":"2020","journal-title":"Sustain. Cities Soc."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zhang, L., Wei, D., Hou, Y., Du, J., Liu, Z., and Zhang, G. (2020). Outdoor Thermal Comfort of Urban Park\u2014A Case Study. Sustainability, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/su12051961"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"386","DOI":"10.1016\/j.landurbplan.2006.09.005","article-title":"A preliminary study on the local cool-island intensity of Taipei city parks","volume":"80","author":"Chang","year":"2007","journal-title":"Landsc. Urban Plan."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"96","DOI":"10.1080\/13504509.2019.1692316","article-title":"Achieving sustainable development goals: Predicaments and strategies","volume":"27","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int. J. Sustain. Dev. World Ecol."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ni, X., Chang, Y., Bai, T., Liu, P., Song, H., Wang, F., and Jin, M. (2025). Projections of Urban Heat Island Effects Under Future Climate Scenarios: A Case Study in Zhengzhou, China. Remote Sens., 17.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs17152660"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"117","DOI":"10.5194\/isprs-archives-XLII-3-W11-117-2020","article-title":"Thermal remote sensing of urban climates in south Africa through the mono-window algorithm","volume":"XLII-3\/W11","author":"Ngie","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spat. Inf. Sci."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"119","DOI":"10.1007\/s00484-006-0047-6","article-title":"The influence of urban design on outdoor thermal comfort in the hot, humid city of Colombo, Sri Lanka","volume":"51","author":"Johansson","year":"2006","journal-title":"Int. J. Biometeorol."},{"key":"ref_26","first-page":"11975","article-title":"Ecosystem services provided by green areas and their implications for human health in Brazil","volume":"161","author":"Barbosa","year":"2024","journal-title":"Ecol. Indic."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"224","DOI":"10.1016\/j.landurbplan.2010.03.008","article-title":"Quantifying the cool island intensity of urban parks using ASTER and IKONOS data","volume":"96","author":"Cao","year":"2010","journal-title":"Landsc. Urban Plan."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gao, Y., Pan, H., and Tian, L. (2023). Analysis of the spillover characteristics of cooling effect in an urban park: A case study in Zhengzhou city. Front. Earth Sci., 11.","DOI":"10.3389\/feart.2023.1133901"},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1002\/joc.859","article-title":"Two decades of urban climate research: A review of turbulence, exchanges of energy and water, and the urban heat island","volume":"23","author":"Arnfield","year":"2003","journal-title":"Int. J. Climatol."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Feng, X., Yu, J., Xin, C., Ye, T., Wang, T., Chen, H., Zhang, X., and Zhang, L. (2023). Quantifying and Comparing the Cooling Effects of Three Different Morphologies of Urban Parks in Chengdu. Land, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/land12020451"},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"111427","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecolind.2023.111427","article-title":"Effects of urban green spaces landscape pattern on carbon sink among urban ecological function areas at the appropriate scale: A case study in Xi\u2019an","volume":"158","author":"Shi","year":"2024","journal-title":"Ecol. Indic."},{"key":"ref_32","unstructured":"Street, M., Reinhart, C., Norford, L., and Ochsendorf, J. (2013, January 25\u201328). Urban heat island in boston\u2014An evaluation of urban air temperature models for predicting building energy use. Proceedings of the BS 2013: 13th Conference of the International Building Performance Simulation Association, Chamb\u00e9ry, France."},{"key":"ref_33","unstructured":"Chapman, S. (2018). The Impact of Urban Growth and Climate Change on Heat Stress in a Sub-Tropical Australian City. [Ph.D. Thesis, The University of Queensland]."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Norouzi, M., Chau, H.-W., and Jamei, E. (2024). Design and Site-Related Factors Impacting the Cooling Performance of Urban Parks in Different Climate Zones: A Systematic Review. Land, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/land13122175"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zhao, X., Kong, K., Wang, R., Liu, J., Deng, Y., Yin, L., and Zhang, B. (2025). Assessing the cooling effects of urban parks and their potential influencing factors: Perspectives on maximum impact and accumulation effects. Sustainability, 17.","DOI":"10.3390\/su17157015"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"257","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ufug.2012.03.005","article-title":"Drivers of diversity and tree cover in gardens, parks and streetscapes in an Australian city","volume":"11","author":"Kendal","year":"2012","journal-title":"Urban For. Urban Green."},{"key":"ref_37","first-page":"165","article-title":"The influence of roadside green spaces on thermal conditions in the urban environment","volume":"35","author":"Stojanovic","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Archit. Plann. Res."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"40","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ufug.2017.10.019","article-title":"Air pollution removal by urban forests in Canada and its effect on air quality and human health","volume":"29","author":"Nowak","year":"2018","journal-title":"Urban For. Urban Green."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104478","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cities.2023.104478","article-title":"Perceptions and preferences of urban residents for green infrastructure to help cities adapt to climate change threats","volume":"141","author":"Barreira","year":"2023","journal-title":"Cities"},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Makvandi, M., Li, B., Elsadek, M., Khodabakhshi, Z., and Ahmadi, M. (2019). The interactive impact of building diversity on the thermal balance and micro-climate change under the influence of rapid urbanization. Sustainability, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/su11061662"},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"79","DOI":"10.1016\/j.gloplacha.2014.11.008","article-title":"Trends and variability of daily temperature extremes during 1960\u20132012 in the Yangtze River Basin, China","volume":"124","author":"Guan","year":"2015","journal-title":"Glob. Planet. Change"},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hashemi Sigari, R., and Panagopoulos, T. (2024). A Multicriteria decision-making approach for urban water features: Ecological landscape architecture evaluation. Land, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/land13111799"},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104519","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scs.2023.104519","article-title":"Cooling effect and cooling accessibility of urban parks during hot summers in China\u2019s largest sustainability experiment","volume":"93","author":"Shi","year":"2023","journal-title":"Sustain. Cities Soc."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104681","DOI":"10.1016\/j.landurbplan.2022.104681","article-title":"Linking urban park cool island effects to the landscape patterns inside and outside the park: A simultaneous equation modeling approach","volume":"232","author":"Liao","year":"2023","journal-title":"Landsc. Urban Plan."},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101255","DOI":"10.1016\/j.uclim.2022.101255","article-title":"The effect of graduated urban park size on park cooling island and distance relative to land surface temperature (LST)","volume":"45","author":"Algretawee","year":"2022","journal-title":"Urban Clim."},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1390","DOI":"10.1080\/09640568.2023.2286927","article-title":"Relevance of ecosystem services and disservices from green infrastructure perceived by the inhabitants of two Portuguese cities dealing with climate change: Implications for environmental and intersectional justice","volume":"68","author":"Barreira","year":"2025","journal-title":"J. Environ. Plan. Manag."}],"container-title":["Land"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2073-445X\/14\/11\/2164\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,31]],"date-time":"2025-10-31T03:05:15Z","timestamp":1761879915000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2073-445X\/14\/11\/2164"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,30]]},"references-count":46,"journal-issue":{"issue":"11","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11]]}},"alternative-id":["land14112164"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/land14112164","relation":{},"ISSN":["2073-445X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2073-445X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,30]]}}}