An urban heat island is defined as an urban area that experiences warmer temperatures than its surroundings. This study examines how Singapore’s planning efforts established after the mid-20th century have affected the thermal environment of the city in association with land transformation, using historical temperature data available from the Meteorological Service of Singapore and some historical studies. Singapore’s planners have carefully regulated the growth of its downtown while promoting expansion in other parts of the city-state. These effects of planning have also unconsciously shaped the location and outline of Singapore’s urban heat island. As a result, new urban heat peaks were found around the centres of newly constructed large-scale new towns compared to industrial areas. This study provides lessons for land planning in mitigating a city’s urban heat island effects.
AlexandriEJonesP (2008) Temperature decreases in an urban canyon due to green walls and green roofs in diverse climates. Building and Environment43(4): 480–493.
2.
ArnfieldAJ (2003) Two decades of urban climate research: A review of turbulence, exchanges of energy and water, and the urban heat island. International Journal of Climatology23(1): 1–26.
3.
AzevedoJChapmanLMullerC (2016) Quantifying the daytime and night-time urban heat island in Birmingham, UK: A comparison of satellite derived land surface temperature and high resolution air temperature observations. Remote Sensing8(2): 153.
4.
BellD (2005) The emergence of contemporary masterplans: Property markets and the value of urban design. Journal of Urban Design10(1): 81–110.
5.
BouyerJMusyMHuangY, et al. (2011) Mitigating urban heat island effect by urban design: Forms and materials. In: HoornwegDFreireMLeeMJetal. (eds) Cities and Climate Change: Responding to an Urgent Agenda. Washington, DC: The World Bank, pp.164–181.
6.
CerveroRSullivanC (2010) Toward green TODs. Working Paper UCB-ITS-VWP-2010-7. Berkeley, CA: UC Berkeley Center for Future Urban Transportation.
7.
ChenXLZhaoHMLiPX, et al. (2006) Remote sensing image-based analysis of the relationship between urban heat island and land use/cover changes. Remote Sensing of Environment104(2): 133–146.
8.
ConstantinescuDChevalSCaracaşG, et al. (2016) Effective monitoring and warning of urban heat island effect on the indoor thermal risk in Bucharest (Romania). Energy and Buildings127: 452–468.
9.
CuiYXuXDongJ, et al. (2016) Influence of urbanization factors on surface urban heat island intensity: A comparison of countries at different developmental phases. Sustainability8(8): 706.
10.
DaleOJ (1999) Urban Planning in Singapore: The Transformation of a City. Shah Alam: Oxford University Press.
11.
Das MajumdarDBiswasA (2016) Quantifying land surface temperature change from LISA clusters: An alternative approach to identifying urban land use transformation. Landscape and Urban Planning153: 51–65.
12.
Department of Statistics (2020a) Yearbook of Statistics Singapore 2020. Singapore: Department of Statistics, Ministry of Trade and Industry.
De RidderKMaiheuBLauwaetD, et al. (2016) Urban heat island intensification during hot spells—The case of Paris during the summer of 2003. Urban Science1(1): 3.
15.
DimoudiANikolopoulouM (2003) Vegetation in the urban environment: Microclimatic analysis and benefits. Energy and Buildings35(1): 69–76.
16.
EngTSSavageVR (1985) Singapore landscape: A historical overview of housing change. Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography6(1): 48–63.
17.
EumJHSchererDFehrenbachU, et al. (2013) Integrating urban climate into urban master plans using spatially distributed information—The Seoul example. Land Use Policy34: 223–232.
18.
GohKCChangCH (1998) The nocturnal heat island phenomenon of Singapore revisited. In: 5th Southeast Asian Geography Association Conference, 30 November–4 December 1998, Singapore.
19.
GohKCChangCH (1999) The relationship between height to width ratios and the heat island intensity at 22:00 h for Singapore. International Journal of Climatology19(9): 1011–1023.
20.
GongPLiangSCarltonEJ, et al. (2012) Urbanisation and health in China. The Lancet379(9818): 843–852.
21.
GrimmNBFaethSHGolubiewskiNE, et al. (2008) Global change and the ecology of cities. Science319(5864): 756–760.
22.
HartMASailorDJ (2009) Quantifying the influence of land-use and surface characteristics on spatial variability in the urban heat island. Theoretical and Applied Climatology95(3–4): 397–406.
23.
Housing & Development Board (2020) Key Statistics: HDB Annual Report 2019/2020. Singapore: Housing and Development Board.
24.
HowardL (1818) The climate of London: Deduced from meteorological observations, made at different places in the neighbourhood of the metropolis (Vol. 1). London: W. Phillips.
25.
HuangYMusyMHégronG, et al. (2008) 663: Towards urban design guidelines from urban morphology description and climate adaptability. In: Proceedings of PLEA 2008–25th conference on passive and low energy architecture, Dublin, Ireland, 2–24 October 2008.
26.
IshiiAIwamotoSKatayamaT, et al. (1991) A comparison of field surveys on the thermal environment in urban areas surroundings a large pond: When filled and when drained. Energy and Buildings16(3–4): 965–971.
27.
JaureguiE (1990) Influence of a large urban park on temperature and convective precipitation in a tropical city. Energy and Buildings15(33–44): 457–463.
28.
JusufSKWongNHHagenE, et al. (2007) The influence of land use on the urban heat island in Singapore. Habitat International31(2): 232–242.
29.
KatoSYamaguchiY (2007) Estimation of storage heat flux in an urban area using ASTER data. Remote Sensing of Environment110(1): 1–17.
30.
KimHJungYOhJI (2019) Transformation of urban heat island in the three-center city of Seoul, South Korea: The role of master plans. Land Use Policy86: 328–338.
31.
KubotaTLeeHSTrihamdaniAR, et al. (2017) Impacts of land use changes from the Hanoi Master Plan 2030 on urban heat islands: Part 1. Cooling effects of proposed green strategies. Sustainable Cities and Society32: 295–317.
32.
LacCDonnellyRPMassonV, et al. (2013) CO2 dispersion modelling over Paris region within the CO2-MEGAPARIS project. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics13(9): 4941–4961.
33.
LandsbergHE (1981) The Urban Climate. New York, NY and London: Academic Press.
34.
LemonsuAViguiéVDanielM, et al. (2015) Vulnerability to heat waves: Impact of urban expansion scenarios on urban heat island and heat stress in Paris (France). Urban Climate14: 586–605.
35.
LiJSongCCaoL, et al. (2011) Impacts of landscape structure on surface urban heat islands: A case study of Shanghai, China. Remote Sensing of Environment115(12): 3249–3263.
36.
LuJLiCYuC, et al. (2012) Regression analysis of the relationship between urban heat island effect and urban canopy characteristics in a mountainous city, Chongqing. Indoor and Built Environment21(6): 821–836.
37.
MackeyCWLeeXSmithRB (2012) Remotely sensing the cooling effects of city scale efforts to reduce urban heat island. Building and Environment49: 348–358.
38.
MadanipourAMiciukiewiczKVigarG (2018) Master plans and urban change: The case of Sheffield city centre. Journal of Urban Design23(4): 465–481.
39.
MassonVLemonsuAHidalgoJ, et al. (2020) Urban climates and climate change. Annual Review of Environment and Resources45(1): 411–444.
40.
McDonnellMJMacGregor-ForsI (2016) The ecological future of cities. Science352(6288): 936–938.
MiddelAChhetriNQuayR (2015) Urban forestry and cool roofs: Assessment of heat mitigation strategies in Phoenix residential neighborhoods. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening14(1): 178–186.
44.
MiddelAHäbKBrazelAJ, et al. (2014) Impact of urban form and design on mid-afternoon microclimate in Phoenix Local Climate Zones. Landscape and Urban Planning122: 16–28.
45.
MingLJSuanTPTohW (2010) HDB’s next generation of eco-districts at punggol and eco-modernisation of existing towns. The IES Journal Part A: Civil & Structural Engineering3(3): 203–209.
46.
National University of Singapore (n.d.) Historical maps of Singapore. Available at: https://libmaps.nus.edu.sg/ (accessed 1 July 2022).
47.
NiuSHuAShenZ, et al. (2019) Study on land use characteristics of rail transit TOD sites in new towns—taking Singapore as an example. Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering18(1): 16–27.
48.
OkeTR (1973) City size and the urban heat island. Atmospheric Environment (1967)7(8): 769–779.
49.
OkeTR (1982) The energetic basis of the urban heat island. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society108(455): 1–24.
OkeTR (1988) Street design and urban canopy layer climate. Energy and Buildings11(1–3): 103–113.
52.
OkeTR (1995) The heat island of the urban boundary layer: Characteristics, causes and effects. In: CermakJEDavenportAGPlateEJ, et al. (eds) Wind Climate in Cities. Dordrecht: Springer, pp.81–107.
53.
OkeTRTaeslerROlssonLE (1990) The tropical urban climate experiment (TRUCE). Energy and Buildings15(1–2): 67–73.
54.
PatzJACampbell-LendrumDHollowayT, et al. (2005) Impact of regional climate change on human health. Nature438(7066): 310–317.
55.
PengSPiaoSCiaisP, et al. (2012) Surface urban heat island across 419 global big cities. Environmental Science & Technology46(2): 696–703.
56.
PriyadarsiniRHienWNWai DavidCK (2008) Microclimatic modeling of the urban thermal environment of Singapore to mitigate urban heat island. Solar Energy82(8): 727–745.
57.
RothM (2007) Review of urban climate research in (sub)tropical regions. International Journal of Climatology27(14): 1859–1873.
58.
RothMChowWTL (2012) A historical review and assessment of urban heat island research in Singapore. Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography33(3): 381–397.
59.
SantamourisM (2014) On the energy impact of urban heat island and global warming on buildings. Energy and Buildings82: 100–113.
60.
SchwarzNLautenbachSSeppeltR (2011) Exploring indicators for quantifying surface urban heat islands of European cities with MODIS land surface temperatures. Remote Sensing of Environment115(12): 3175–3186.
61.
ShepherdJM (2005) A review of current investigations of urban-induced rainfall and recommendations for the future. Earth Interactions9(12): 1–27.
62.
Singapore Meteorological Service (1986) A study of the urban climate of Singapore. In: Proceedings of the Conference on The Biophysical Environment of Singapore and its Neighbouring Countries (eds ChiaLSLeeHCRahmanAR, et al.), 3–5 May 1985, pp.50–76. Singapore: Geography Teacher’s Association of Singapore.
63.
SinghM (2017) Transportation: Mobility, accessibility, and connectivity. In: KiangHC (ed.) 50 Years of Urban Planning in Singapore. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing, pp.127–151.
64.
Spronken-SmithRAOkeTR (1998) The thermal regime of urban parks in two cities with different summer climates. International Journal of Remote Sensing19(11): 2085–2104.
65.
SteeneveldGJKoopmansSHeusinkveldBG, et al. (2011) Quantifying urban heat island effects and human comfort for cities of variable size and urban morphology in the Netherlands. Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres116: D20129.
66.
StewartID (2019) Why should urban heat island researchers study history?Urban Climate30: 100484.
67.
StillT (2002) Transit-oriented development: Reshaping America’s metropolitan landscape. On Common Ground: 44–47.
68.
StoneBHessJJFrumkinH (2010) Urban form and extreme heat events: Are sprawling cities more vulnerable to climate change than compact cities?Environmental Health Perspectives118(10): 1425–1428.
69.
StoneBNormanJM (2006) Land use planning and surface heat island formation: A parcel-based radiation flux approach. Atmospheric Environment (1967)40(19): 3561–3573.
70.
StoneBRodgersMO (2001) Urban form and thermal efficiency:How the design of cities influences the urban heat island effect. Journal of the American Planning Association. American Planning Association67(2): 186–198.
71.
SuscaTGaffinSRDell’ossoGR (2011) Positive effects of vegetation: Urban heat island and green roofs. Environmental Pollution (1970)159(8–9): 2119–2126.
72.
SvenssonMKEliassonI (2002) Diurnal air temperatures in built-up areas in relation to urban planning. Landscape and Urban Planning61(1): 37–54.
73.
TangHL (2017) Industrial Planning in Singapore. In: KiangHC (ed.) 50 Years of Urban Planning in Singapore. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing, pp.153–176.
74.
TayyebiAShafizadeh-MoghadamHTayyebiAH (2018) Analyzing long-term spatio-temporal patterns of land surface temperature in response to rapid urbanization in the mega-city of Tehran. Land Use Policy71: 459–469.
75.
TorokSMorrisCSkinnerC, et al. (2001) Urban heat island features of southeast Australian towns. Australian Meteorological Magazine50(1): 1–13.
76.
TranHUchihamaDOchiS, et al. (2006) Assessment with satellite data of the urban heat island effects in Asian mega cities. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation8(1): 34–48.
77.
Urban Redevelopment Authority (1991) Living the Next Lap: Towards a Tropical City of Excellence. Singapore: Urban Redevelopment Authority.
VoogtJAOkeTR (2003) Thermal remote sensing of urban climates. Remote Sensing of Environment86(3): 370–384.
80.
WengQLuDSchubringJ (2004) Estimation of land surface temperature–vegetation abundance relationship for urban heat island studies. Remote Sensing of Environment89(4): 467–483.
81.
WilbyRL (2003) Past and projected trends in London’s urban heat island. Weather58(7): 251–260.
82.
WongNHYuC (2005) Study of green areas and urban heat island in a tropical city. Habitat International29(3): 547–558.
83.
WuZChenL (2017) Optimizing the spatial arrangement of trees in residential neighborhoods for better cooling effects: Integrating modeling with in-situ measurements. Landscape and Urban Planning167: 463–472.
84.
YangXRuby LeungLZhaoN, et al. (2017) Contribution of urbanization to the increase of extreme heat events in an urban agglomeration in east China. Geophysical Research Letters44(13): 6940–6950.
85.
ZhengBMyintSWFanC (2014) Spatial configuration of anthropogenic land cover impacts on urban warming. Landscape and Urban Planning130: 104–111.
86.
ZhouWQianYLiX, et al. (2014) Relationships between land cover and the surface urban heat island: Seasonal variability and effects of spatial and thematic resolution of land cover data on predicting land surface temperatures. Landscape Ecology29(1): 153–167.
87.
ZhouYWengQGurneyKR, et al. (2012) Estimation of the relationship between remotely sensed anthropogenic heat discharge and building energy use. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing67: 65–72.
