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Mitigating the Urban Heat Island effect through implementing Green Infrastructure: a case study of Madrid

Balgalis, Krisjanis LU (2025) In Student thesis series INES NGEK01 20251
Dept of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science
Abstract
This study looks at the change of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) intensity in Rio Park, Madrid, which during the course of the last 20 years has in essence been retransformed from an urban highway into a flourishing green park along the Manzanares river. The deconstruction of the M-30 highway started in 2005, was completely finished in 2015, and canopy growth in the area continued during the following years. Both the day-time and night-time UHIs are looked at, albeit considering that previous studies in Madrid had found the largest difference with the nocturnal UHI. The maximum and minimum daily air temperature from 4 weather stations, with each corresponding to a different cardinal direction, within the Municipality of Madrid, were chosen... (More)
This study looks at the change of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) intensity in Rio Park, Madrid, which during the course of the last 20 years has in essence been retransformed from an urban highway into a flourishing green park along the Manzanares river. The deconstruction of the M-30 highway started in 2005, was completely finished in 2015, and canopy growth in the area continued during the following years. Both the day-time and night-time UHIs are looked at, albeit considering that previous studies in Madrid had found the largest difference with the nocturnal UHI. The maximum and minimum daily air temperature from 4 weather stations, with each corresponding to a different cardinal direction, within the Municipality of Madrid, were chosen for the rural sites. An urban park’s weather station located in the centre of Madrid and 2.7km away from the study area was chosen to provide data for the urban air temperature, as well as to retrieve an empirical function to correlate Land Surface Temperature (LST) obtained from the Landsat 7 satellite with maximum and minimum daily surface air temperature for the study area. The time scope for the study is the operational period of the Landsat 7 (1999-2023), limited to only July months, since they exhibit the highest average air temperatures and lowest precipitation, amplifying the UHI effect. The time periods were divided into 3 parts – the pre-construction (1999-2005) period, the construction period (2005-2015), and the post-construction period (2015-2023). The NDVI increased from 0.254 in 1999-2005 to 0.311 in 2015-2023, whilst the UHI intensity decreased from 1.71°K in 1999-2005 to 1.47°K in 2015-2023 for the day-time UHI, while the night-time UHI decreased from 6.16°K to 4.80°K in the same period. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Balgalis, Krisjanis LU
supervisor
organization
course
NGEK01 20251
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Urban heat island, UHI mitigation, green infrastructure, NDVI, Madrid, Landsat 7, equivalent potential temperature
publication/series
Student thesis series INES
report number
690
language
English
id
9202895
date added to LUP
2025-06-19 11:37:08
date last changed
2025-06-19 11:37:08
@misc{9202895,
  abstract     = {{This study looks at the change of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) intensity in Rio Park, Madrid, which during the course of the last 20 years has in essence been retransformed from an urban highway into a flourishing green park along the Manzanares river. The deconstruction of the M-30 highway started in 2005, was completely finished in 2015, and canopy growth in the area continued during the following years. Both the day-time and night-time UHIs are looked at, albeit considering that previous studies in Madrid had found the largest difference with the nocturnal UHI. The maximum and minimum daily air temperature from 4 weather stations, with each corresponding to a different cardinal direction, within the Municipality of Madrid, were chosen for the rural sites. An urban park’s weather station located in the centre of Madrid and 2.7km away from the study area was chosen to provide data for the urban air temperature, as well as to retrieve an empirical function to correlate Land Surface Temperature (LST) obtained from the Landsat 7 satellite with maximum and minimum daily surface air temperature for the study area. The time scope for the study is the operational period of the Landsat 7 (1999-2023), limited to only July months, since they exhibit the highest average air temperatures and lowest precipitation, amplifying the UHI effect. The time periods were divided into 3 parts – the pre-construction (1999-2005) period, the construction period (2005-2015), and the post-construction period (2015-2023). The NDVI increased from 0.254 in 1999-2005 to 0.311 in 2015-2023, whilst the UHI intensity decreased from 1.71°K in 1999-2005 to 1.47°K in 2015-2023 for the day-time UHI, while the night-time UHI decreased from 6.16°K to 4.80°K in the same period.}},
  author       = {{Balgalis, Krisjanis}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  series       = {{Student thesis series INES}},
  title        = {{Mitigating the Urban Heat Island effect through implementing Green Infrastructure: a case study of Madrid}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}