Integrating Biophilic Design And Smart Technologies For Urban Heat Island Mitigation In Residential Communities Of Southeast Nigeria

Abstract

Abstract: The intensification of the urban heat island (UHI) effect across residential communities in Southeast Nigeria has continued to result in the deterioration of environmental quality and increasing demand for cooling energy. Such effect, as triggered by anthropogenic heat emissions, increasing surface areas of imperviousness, loss of greenery, and rapid urbanisation, also causes thermal discomfort. Although existing studies have identified the limitless capabilities of biophilic design principles (BDP) and smart technologies (ST), a significant gap persists in how to evolve and deploy an integrated climate-responsive intervention that is bespoke to tropical residential environments. To this end, this study critically investigated the integration of a BDP/ST intervention for the mitigation of UHI in residential communities of Aba, Awka, Abakiliki, Enugu, and Owerri. With the implementation of a convergent parallel mixed method design, fifteen residential communities, representing low, medium and high-density layouts, were selected for the investigation. Through appropriate analysis techniques, including ENVI-met simulations, remote sensing of Landsat/Sentinel, and GIS spatial analysis, findings indicated that factors such as mean UHI intensity (3.48 °C), surface imperviousness (67%) and vegetation loss index (0.56) contributed to intensifying thermal stress. It was also noted that there are strong correlations between vegetation loss (r=0.93), imperiousness (r=0.96) and UHI. The integration of a BDP/ST intervention noted reductions in UTCI (by 4.93 °C), PET (by 5.63 °C), surface temperatures (2.7 °C – 6.8 °C) and ambient temperature (1.4 °C – 3.4 °C). Values of IEPS in high-risk communities increased to 90% while demand for cooling energy declined (by 20.7% - 30.5%). In conclusion, the study recognised the need to present an integrated ecological and technological template to escalate climate-responsive residential planning. It recommends that climate-responsive planning regulations, reflective materials, IoT-enabled environmental monitoring and compulsory green infrastructure policies be adopted to improve the urban thermal resilience of residential communities in Southeast Nigeria.