Comparing Various Designs of Bioretention for Rainwater Management and Microclimate Regulation: Implications for Residential Areas

Effective microclimate regulation and rainwater management have become critical challenges in residential environments. Bioretention (BR) facilities are widely applied low-impact development (LID) measures that provide co-benefits in runoff control and microclimate regulation. However, the effects of BR designs and runoff control targets on microclimate performance remain unclear. Using ENVI-met simulations, this study evaluated the microclimate regulation performance of simple and engineered BR configurations under varying total annual runoff control rates (RCRs) across 28 scenarios in a community in Nanjing, China, considering sunny and post-rainfall conditions. Results showed the following: (1) Simple and engineered BR facilities exhibit distinct microclimate regulation pathways: simple BR shows a stable improvement in microclimate regulation with increasing facility area, whereas engineered BR shows declining effectiveness when RCR exceeds 75%. (2) Rainfall enhances the cooling and humidifying effects of both BR alternatives, enhancing microclimate regulation on post-rainfall conditions. (3) BR selection should be aligned with RCR targets. When RCR ≤ 75%, no substantial difference is observed between the two BR alternatives, while simple BR demonstrates better cooling effectiveness and higher implementation efficiency at higher RCRs. This study provides practical guidance for optimizing bioretention design to balance runoff control and microclimate regulation in residential-scale LID planning.