Implementing WUDAPT product into urban development impact analysis by using WRF simulation result - A case study of the Pearl River Delta Region (1980-2010)

The Pearl River Delta (PRD) Region in China has experienced fast urbanization since the 1980s. Now it is the most densely populated and urbanized region in the world. However, its urban expansion and intensive development will continue according to “The PRD region reform and Development Plan (2008-2020)”. In the process of past urbanization, on one hand the whole region has created unique compact and dense urban morphological forms, on the other hand its local urban climatic conditions have also been inevitably and gradually changed. Thus, understanding the urban development impact on local urban climatic changes from the 1980’s to the 2010’s will allow planners have a perspective for gaining an insight into the future.

This study firstly collects historical Landsat images to detect land cover and urban morphological information of the 1980’s and the 2010’s by using WUDAPT method (Bechtel, et.al, 2015). Secondly, according the USGS land use category, the WUDAPT level 0 product can be re-classified. Especially for urban category, three sub-categories of high-roughness, mid-roughness and low-roughness will be developed and their corresponding settings in WRF simulation model will be updated and redefined. Thirdly, the WRF simulation with the default setting up for the year of 2010 will be run for the summer period and its results will serve as the benchmark. And two new WRF simulations by using the WUDAPT products as input data will be conducted and their results will be compared with the benchmark one. So the pure urbanization (1980-2010) impact on local climate conditions of summer time can be analyzed. The lessons learnt from this study will provide local policy makers and planners with a quantitative understanding on urban development of the PRD region. It also can serve as useful reference for developing countries in sub-tropical climate regions which are also facing fast urbanization. The findings will inform “The environmental performance assessment guide of urban ecological development of China (Trial Version)” and “The PRD region reform and Development Plan (2008-2020)”.

(*This abstract is preferred to submit to the special WUDAPT session)