Piloting Nature-based Urban Cooling Solutions for Urban Regeneration and New Town Development in Guangzhou, China | Building a Cooler Guangzhou
Guangzhou is the capital of Guangdong Province, China. It is the third largest city in China with an area of 7434km. In 2020, Guangzhou reached a GDP of over 2500 billion RMB with a population of over 18 million people. Guangzhou has a subtropical monsoon climate, hot and rainy with a long summer and a short winter. In the summer, southeast winds are prevalent, while in winter, northerly winds are more common. With high temperature and humidity, and frequently calm wind, only 21.9 percent of the year is considered ‘comfortable’ by measurement of the discomfort index, also known as Temperature-Humidity Index. Due to the conversion of natural green space to buildings and roads, a high density of construction, and a significant amount of anthropogenic heat, the central built-up areas of Guangzhou have formed a distinct urban heat island. This report articulates the pilot work in the Yongqingfang Second Phase Project and the China-Singapore Knowledge City Project, especially whether and how the various cooling options could be deployed in both the old neighborhood and new area. The experience and perspective gained through these two sites will offer valuable insight into the feasibility of various cooling options and support the integration of nature-based passive urban cooling options with the city’s spatial planning process.
