Designing with phenology: Tree canopy dynamics and its effects on solar exposure for a residential building

Abstract

Trees and other vegetal materials are an integral component in urban or suburban environment, particularly in the residential landscape. In the literature, there are numerous studies on the roles that street trees and/or residential gardens play in shaping neighbourhood character, enhancing property value, mitigating urban heat island effect, and improving carbon sequestration of terrestrial ecosystems. However, these studies are mostly in a general sense and at relatively coarse spatial and temporal scales. In this study, spatially explicit models are developed to simulate the effects of tree phenology and the associated tree canopy dynamics on regulating solar exposure and natural thermal ..