The Relationship between Land Use and Temperature Change in Dallas County, Texas

This study examines the relationship between land use and temperature change in Dallas County, TX. The purpose of this research is to analyze the relationship between temperature and land use and to identify the primary factors contributing to the formation of urban heat islands based on different categories of land use. Specifically, this research analyzes the elements that contribute to the urban heat island effect in Dallas County using temperature data provided by remote sensing imagery and parcel-based land use data using Geographic Information System (GIS) technique and a correlation analysis method, which was employed to analyze the relationship between temperature and land use. The results of this study showed that every land use category has different temperature averages and those patterns were observed similarly in both 2000 and 2005. Parking, airport, commercial, industrial, and residential areas have relatively high temperatures. In contrast, water, undeveloped area and parks showed relatively low temperatures. Another major finding was ratio of land use composition affected the temperature of census tracts. Correlation analyses of land use and temperature in 2000 and 2005 indicate that various types of land use categories have significant relationships with temperature. Among them commercial, industrial, residential, parking, and infrastructure, are positively associated with temperature, while undeveloped, parks, water, and dedicated areas are negatively associated with temperature. Areas with a high ratio of commercial use showed the highest and undeveloped areas showed the lowest relationship. Furthermore, through the analysis of the relationship between land use and temperature change for five years (2000-2005), this study finds that temperature change depends on the ratio of each land use category change. The results of this study can help local planning and policy decisions which are related to urban land use planning concerning temperature change such as zoning, environmental regulations and open space preservation.