Effects of Two Urban Development Strategies on Changes in the Land Surface Temperature: Infill versus Suburban New Town Development

Abstract

This study investigated the impacts of two different urban development strategies (infill and suburban new town development) on changes in the land surface temperature (LST) in the Seoul metropolitan area. One large-scale infill site and three suburban new towns developed between 2004 and 2014 were selected as the case study areas. The authors retrieved LSTs and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from remote sensing images for both of the years, and combined them with parcel-based land use information. The descriptive and statistical results showed a substantial LST reduction at the infill site, whereas the LST rose in the suburban new towns. In particular, the improved NDVI in the residential area of the infill site contributed to a reduction in the LST. The findings suggested that environmentally friendly and well-designed infill development can be a good development strategy for achieving urban sustainability by mitigating the urban heat island effects.