Tohoku University · Environmental Science
Professor Xilin Zhou's research lab focuses on sustainable urban development, with a strong emphasis on urban environmental health, climate resilience, and human well-being in rapidly urbanizing contexts. The lab investigates the interplay between urban form, built environment, and public health outcomes—particularly hypertension and thermal comfort—while also evaluating large-scale urban resilience programs such as China’s Sponge City initiative. Research integrates environmental monitoring, epidemiological data, and behavioral surveys to inform evidence-based urban planning and policy.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Urban flooding is a major problem for large cities around the world. Rapid urbanization in China has tremendously increased, resulting in more frequent incidences of urban flooding. In 2013, China launched a program of 30 pilot sponge cities (SPCs) to establish integrated urban stormwater management. However, today, after several years of implementation, some sponge cities still experience flooding. This study provides answers and solutions to these problems, by evaluating the overall performanc
To date, studies of outdoor thermal comfort (OTC) have focused primarily on physical factors, tending to overlook the relevance of individual adaptation to microclimate parameters through psychological and physiological behaviors. These adaptations can significantly affect the use of urban and outdoor spaces. The study presented here investigated these issues, with a view to aiding sustainable urban development. Measurements of OTC were taken at a university campus and in urban spaces. Simultane
This paper studies the correlation between built environment factors and the prevalence of hypertension in Wuhan, a typical city in central China. Data were obtained from a regional epidemiological database, which is the 2015 Epidemiological Survey of people under 65 years in 144 communities. The prevalence of hypertension was analyzed in five components based on the WHO framework (land use, transport, accessibility, green space, and socioeconomic status). Results indicated built environment fac
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