Spatio-Temporal Assessment of Green Infrastructure Dynamics and Urban Heat Island Mitigation Using Remote Sensing and GIS: Evidence from Owerri Urban, Nigeria
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Keywords:
Green Infrastructure; Urban Heat Island; Land Surface Temperature; Remote Sensing; Sustainable Urban Planning; Owerri UrbanAbstract
Rapid urbanisation has accelerated the loss of urban green infrastructure in many cities of the Global South, intensifying Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects and posing significant challenges to sustainable urban development. Despite growing interest in the cooling role of urban vegetation, limited attention has been given to integrating long-term green infrastructure dynamics with thermal remote sensing to support spatially explicit planning interventions in rapidly expanding secondary cities. This study evaluated the spatio-temporal distribution of Green Infrastructure (GI) and its influence on urban thermal conditions in Owerri Urban, Nigeria, using multi-temporal Landsat imagery acquired in 2000, 2015, and 2025. Green Infrastructure maps, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and Land Surface Temperature (LST) were derived and analysed alongside correlation, multiple linear regression, and spatial overlay techniques to investigate vegetation–temperature interactions and identify priority greening zones. The results revealed a substantial decline in Green Infrastructure from 72.22% in 2000 to 26.43% in 2025, accompanied by a corresponding increase in non-green areas and progressively higher land surface temperatures. Statistical analysis showed a strong negative relationship between NDVI and LST (r = -0.772, p < 0.001), while the regression model explained 72.9% of the spatial variation in LST (R² = 0.729), confirming that vegetation density and built-up intensity are the principal determinants of urban thermal conditions. Spatial overlay analysis further identified priority greening zones where strategic vegetation restoration is expected to provide the greatest cooling benefits. This study demonstrates that integrating green infrastructure assessment with thermal remote sensing and spatial prioritisation provides a practical decision-support framework for climate-responsive urban planning. The findings highlight the importance of protecting and expanding urban green infrastructure as a nature-based solution for mitigating Urban Heat Islands, for strengthening climate resilience, and advancing sustainable urban infrastructure.
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