Rapid urbanization in tropical cities intensifies heat exposure while constraining opportunities

The gap

Evidence profile

Sourced from the stated challenges and stated research gap and future-work section and abstract of the source papers, classified as general, drawn from work published between 2025 and 2026, spanning 5 journals. Those papers have been cited 10 times in total.

Supporting evidence — 7 representative gaps

• Assessing the Potential of Revegetating Abandoned Agricultural Lands Using Nature-Based Typologies for Urban Thermal Comfort (2025) · Land · cited 4× · doi

  The study identifies the challenge of mitigating urban heat stress and improving thermal comfort in cities. It highlights the need to address the environmental impacts of vegetation loss. The research faces the challenge of evaluating the efficacy of nature-based solutions in revegetating abandoned urban agricultural lands.

  generalstated challenges
  Keywords: study identifies challenge mitigating urban heat stress improving
• Designing for Cooler Street: Case Study of Van City (2025) · Land · cited 3× · doi

  There is a lack of evidence-based recommendations for human-centered urban planning in semiarid regions. The impact of different urban design strategies on thermal comfort is not well understood. There is a need for a comprehensive evaluation of the microclimatic performance of various urban design strategies.

  generalstated research gap
  Keywords: there lack evidence-based recommendations human-centered urban planning semiarid
• Radiation-focused UTCI analysis of urban morphology in Riyadh’s hyper-arid residential fabric (2026) · Frontiers in Built Environment · doi

  Neighbourhood-scale parametric analyses of geometry-driven UTCI in Riyadh's residential fabric remain limited. There is a need to understand how geometric adjustments to urban form translate into measurable differences in outdoor thermal conditions. The effects of building height and street-grid orientation on outdoor thermal comfort in hyper-arid residential areas are not well understood.

  generalstated research gapevidence 5/5
  Keywords: neighbourhood-scale parametric analyses geometry-driven utci riyadh residential fabric
• Integrating Local Climate Zones, Landscape Metrics, and Remote Sensing in Understanding Contemporary Urban Thermal Dynamics in an Arid Metropolis in Qatar (2026) · Urban Science · doi

  The paper identifies a gap in understanding the relationship between urban spatial structure and thermal variability in arid cities. There is a need for climate-responsive urban development, heat mitigation strategies, and sustainable land use planning in arid cities. The study addresses the lack of research on the role of urban morphology and vegetation structure in influencing intra-urban thermal dynamics.

  generalstated research gapevidence 5/5
  Keywords: paper identifies gap understanding relationship between urban spatial
• Long-Term Urban Thermal Dynamics and Land Use Transformation in Košice, Slovakia: A Landsat Time Series Analysis (1985–2025) (2026) · Urban Science · doi

  The paper does not explicitly state the research gap, but it can be inferred as: The need for a comprehensive analysis of long-term urban thermal dynamics and land-use changes in medium-sized Central European cities. The lack of studies on the impact of urbanization on the urban heat island effect in Košice, Slovakia.

  generalstated research gapevidence 5/5
  Keywords: paper does explicitly state research gap inferred need
• Evaluating tree replacement for thermal comfort in urban green squares: Munich case study and climate projections to 2050 (2026) · Frontiers in Sustainable Cities · doi

  Further investigation into devising effective tree replacement plans, - Research on the impact of urban morphology on urban squares, - Studies on the effects of climate change on existing vegetation, - Investigation into the application of the 10-20-30 rule for species, genus, and family composition in urban forests

  generalfuture-work sectionevidence 5/5
  Keywords: further investigation devising effective tree replacement plans research
• Urban parks as nature-based infrastructure for climate resilient tropical cities: Insights from cooling, carbon, and culture (2026) · Urban Climate · cited 3× · doi

  Rapid urbanization in tropical cities intensifies heat exposure while constraining opportunities for carbon storage, yet little is known about how the climate-regulating functions of small urban parks vary with park structure or whether these functions are recognized by park users.

  generalabstractevidence 4/5
  Keywords: functions park rapid urbanization tropical cities intensifies heat exposure constraining opportunities carbon storage little known

Questions about this gap