From complex networks to urban heat island governance: Structural analysis and intervention in xiamen island's heat island network

Abstract

Rapid urbanization, under global warming, has intensified the urban heat island effect, causing significant environmental and social challenges. Many studies propose governance measures for individual landscape patches, but their effectiveness remains limited. A global perspective is essential for systematically analyzing urban heat environments. This study uses Xiamen Island as a case study and, based on the "source-sink" landscape theory, applies a reverse-thinking approach to construct urban heat island network that needs to be disrupted. By introducing complex network theory and aligning it with urban needs, a novel framework for optimizing and governing the global heat environment is proposed. The results show that: (1) Xiamen Island has 86 urban heat island sources and 202 heat transfer corridors; (2) 7 potential heat island sources were identified through pinch point analysis; (3) Based on barrier point analysis, 23 heat transfer barriers and 19 priority corridors for governance were found; (4) 6 potential heat transfer corridors were identified using complex network theory and LST data; (5) Robustness analysis of the urban heat island network revealed a governance strategy prioritizing closeness centrality, identifying 15 sources for prioritized governance. This study provides practical new approaches and strategies for comprehensive governance of urban heat environments.