Spatial Interconnections of Land Surface Temperatures with Land Cover/Use: A Case Study of Tokyo

As one of the most populated metropolitan areas in the world, the Tokyo Metropolitan Area (TMA) has experienced severe climatic modifications and pressure due to densified human activities and urban expansion. The surface urban heat island (SUHI) phenomenon particularly constitutes a significant threat to human comfort and geo-environmental health in TMA. This study aimed to profile the spatial interconnections between land surface temperature (LST) and land cover/use in TMA from 2001 to 2015 using multi-source spatial data. To this end, the thermal gradients between the urban and non-urban fabric areas in TMA were examined by joint analysis of land cover/use and LST. The spatiotemporal aggregation patterns, variations, and movement trajectories of SUHI intensity in TMA were identified and delineated. The spatial relationship between SUHI and the potential driving forces in TMA was clarified using geographically weighted regression (GWR) analysis. The results show that the thermal environment of TMA exhibited a polynucleated spatial structure with multiple thermal island cores. Overall, the magnitude and extent of SUHI in TMA increased and expanded from 2001 to 2015. During that time, SUHIs clustered in the compact residential quarters and redevelopment/renovation areas rather than downtown. The GWR models showed better performance than ordinary least squares (OLS) models, with Adj R2 > 0.9, indicating that the magnitude of SUHI significantly depended on its neighboring geographical setting, including land cover composition and configuration, population size, and terrain. We suggest that UHI mitigation in Tokyo should be focused on alleviating the magnitude of persistent thermal cores and controlling unstable SUHI occurrence based on partitioned or location-specific landscape design. This study’s findings have immense implications for SUHI mitigation in metropolitan areas situated in bay regions.