Urban Microclimate and Thermal Comfort
Modeling outdoor heat exposure, pedestrian thermal stress, and comfort across streets, campuses, and neighborhoods.
Academic Homepage
Xiaoyu Li
Research and design for healthy thermal environments, aging populations, and climate-responsive landscapes.
Xiaoyu Li is a Ph.D. Candidate (ABD) in Urban & Regional Science at the School of Architecture, Department of Landscape & Urban Planning, Texas A&M University. His work integrates landscape architecture, urban microclimate, public health, and environmental modeling to understand how outdoor environments affect thermal exposure, comfort, and well-being, especially for older adults and other heat-vulnerable populations.
At a glance
Research themes, mentoring, and teaching activity in urban climate, healthy aging, and climate-responsive landscape design.
Healthy Aging and Heat Vulnerability
Understanding how older adults experience thermal environments and designing heat-responsive living settings.
Landscape Performance and Digital Twins
Bridging environmental data, design workflows, and decision-support tools for healthier and more resilient places.
180+
📚 Citations
20+
🎓 Capstone projects mentored
3.5+ yr
🏙️ Practice in both public & private sector
8+
🧑🏫 Courses taught or assisted
Research profile
An interdisciplinary agenda connecting landscape architecture, urban science, environmental exposure, and public health.
Bio
Xiaoyu Li studies how built and landscape environments shape human thermal experience and health outcomes. His work combines field measurement, LiDAR-derived urban morphology, geospatial analytics, environmental simulation, ecological momentary assessment, and machine learning to support evidence-based design and planning. He is especially interested in aging populations, heat vulnerability, and the translation of environmental research into practical landscape and urban interventions.
Methods & Themes
Urban microclimate modeling · thermal comfort evaluation · environmental exposure mapping · landscape performance · LiDAR and 3D morphology · geospatial analytics · EMA and public health integration · design decision support · urban digital twin.
Education
Academic training in urban science and landscape architecture.
2022 – Expected 2026
Ph.D. Candidate in Urban & Regional Science
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
Dissertation: Thermal Environment Evaluation and Mapping for Older Adults: Towards Designing Healthy Living Environments.
2019 – 2022
Master of Landscape Architecture
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
Thesis: Thermalscape Tactics – Solutions in Response to Ubiquitous Heat Threat in El Paso.
2014 – 2018
Bachelor of Engineering in Landscape Architecture
Southwest University, Chongqing, China
Capstone project on community engagement and flood adaptation in a remote Tibetan village.
Selected publications
Featured work on the left and refereed journal articles on the right, grouped by year.
A novel thermal comfort model for older adults – development and validation of the COMFA-OA model
Building & Environment. Development and validation of an age-appropriate thermal comfort model for older adults, integrating physiological adjustments and outdoor energy balance modeling.
Li, X., Zhang, Y., Sang, H., Lee, C., Sullivan, W., Maddock, J., Li, D., & Brown, D. R.
The COMFA-OA model is supported by an open-source implementation, including Python and R workflows, example datasets, and an interactive Shiny-based web calculator for research and design applications.
Refereed Journal Articles
Scroll to browse publications by year.
Research and design projects
I combine research and design.
Heat-Related Health Risk Assessment and Mitigation for Aging Populations in Public Housing
Project Coordinator for an NIH-funded R01 project investigating the community–individual environment–health nexus in aging populations.
NIH Research Project Grant (R01), $2.46m [2023 - 2027]
Thermalscape Tactics – Solutions in Response to Ubiquitous Heat Threat in El Paso
Honor Award, Research · 2022 ASLA Student Awards. This project investigates how site-scale landscape strategies can mitigate extreme heat in arid urban environments. Using field measurements and environmental simulation, it develops a thermalscape toolkit to evaluate and guide climate-responsive design interventions.
Selected Projects
01
Heat-Related Health Risk Assessment and Mitigation for Aging Populations in Public Housing
02
Human energy budget model development
03
Restoring Happiness: Leveraging GeoAI and Social Engagement
04
Healthy Thermalscapes: Landscape Design for Extreme Heat Adaptation
05
Vale ni Siga – From Sun to Soil. From Module to Community
Experience
Teaching and professional practice across academia and design.
Teaching Experience
2023–Present
Instructor of Record
Texas A&M University
LAND 621 · Open Space and Land Use Planning II (Current)
LAND 602 · Open Space and Land Use Planning I (2023)
URPN 493 · Urban & Regional Studies Capstone (2023)
2022–2023
Teaching Assistant
Texas A&M University · Chongqing, China
LAND 240 · History of Landscape Architecture
Landscape Sculpture Studio (Clay & carving)
2021–2026
Guest Lecturer
Texas A&M University · University of Illinois
Topics include: urban climate & thermal comfort, GIS & CityEngine workflow, ENVI-met simulation, Rhino/Grasshopper modeling, and evidence-based design.
Professional Experience
2022–2025
Landscape Designer (Part-time)
Sangtian Island National Laboratory, Shanghai
Landscape design, construction documentation, interior design, and bidding support.
2018–2019
Landscape Architect / Planner
JiaPei Landscape Design & Urban Planning Co., Chongqing
Project management and village planning in Tibetan regions; field surveys and community-based research.
2018
Student Intern
HeFang Urban Planning & Design Co., Chongqing
Construction drawings, planting design, pavement design, and bid documentation.
Contact
For research collaboration, invited talks, academic communication, and project inquiries.
Get in touch
The best way to reach me is by email. Additional academic profile links are available on the right.
Email
lxy819457986@tamu.edu
Phone
979-739-2769
Affiliation
School of Architecture, Dept. of Landscape & Urban Planning, Texas A&M University
Profiles & Links