A Literature Review of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) Phenomenon Connected with Smart Cities Paradigm

The article aims to analyse the approach used to evaluate Urban Heat Island (UHI) to determine the most suitable parameters based on the urban features of every city. The authors want to investigate the current state of knowledge on the role of Urban Heat Island (UHI) and its associated characteristics in the field of Urban Planning and Smart Cities. This exploration will begin by discussing the concepts of UHI, Smart City, and City Dashboard. They systematise the methodology, classifications, issues, and solutions found in recent scientific studies. This literature review proposes a systematic approach, analysing the best-known databases in the field of scientific research (Google Scholar, Scopus and Science Direct) in order to catalogue and systematise the most consonant approach according to certain characteristics in the study of UHIs. This paper represents a first phase of a broader research and provides a literature base to better understand how to deal with urban heat islands, following an urban planning vision dependent on the concept of Smart Cities. This analysis led to the definition of a set of indicators useful for studying this issue from an urban planning perspective and possible new studies on the interconnection between City Dashboard, Smart Cities and UHI.