Qualitative methods to explore thermo-spatial perception in outdoor urban spaces

To be able to design thermally comfortable urban spaces, designers require design guidelines that respond to people's thermal and spatial perception. This thermo-spatial perception is influenced by a range of dimensions: the nature and scale of spatial contexts, the kinetic state of the people and the time scale of their perception ('now' or 'the past'). Recently, novel qualitative methods have been developed to link thermal and spatial information of people's perception. To attain an overview of these methods we conducted an extensive literature review. The results show that these qualitative methods respond to the different dimensions by combinations of momentary and long-term thermal perception research in stationary mode and in motion in varying spatial environments. These qualitative methods deliver explicit combination of thermal and spatial information. Based on that evidence, new knowledge relevant to urban design of thermally comfortable urban spaces can be generated.

[1]  Sanda Lenzholzer,et al.  Designing atmospheres : research and design for thermal comfort in Dutch urban squares , 2012 .

[2]  H. Mayer,et al.  Thermal comfort of man in different urban environments , 1987 .

[3]  W. Klemm,et al.  Psychological and physical impact of urban green spaces on outdoor thermal comfort during summertime in The Netherlands , 2015 .

[4]  R. Kaplan,et al.  The Prediction of Preference for Familiar Urban Places , 1976 .

[5]  Moohammed Wasim Yahia,et al.  Landscape interventions in improving thermal comfort in the hot dry city of Damascus, Syria—The example of residential spaces with detached buildings , 2014 .

[6]  Philip Lowe,et al.  Integrating the Environment into CAP Reform , 1999 .

[7]  Peter Stringer,et al.  Research on residential thermal comfort: some contributions from environmental psychology , 1988 .

[8]  Jan Carmeliet,et al.  Pedestrian Wind Environment around Buildings: Literature Review and Practical Examples , 2004 .

[9]  F. C. Houghten.  Determining lines of equal comfort , 1923 .

[10]  André Potvin,et al.  Assessing the Microclimate of Urban Transitional Spaces , 2000 .

[11]  Kevin Lynch,et al.  The Image of the City , 1960 .

[12]  Michael W. Eysenck.  Fundamentals of Cognition , 2006 .

[13]  P. Höppe.  Different aspects of assessing indoor and outdoor thermal comfort , 2002 .

[14]  M. Nikolopoulou,et al.  Thermal comfort in outdoor urban spaces: Analysis across different European countries , 2006 .

[15]  K. Steemers,et al.  Thermal comfort and psychological adaptation as a guide for designing urban spaces , 2003 .

[16]  I. Knez,et al.  Psychological mechanisms in outdoor place and weather assessment: towards a conceptual model , 2009, International journal of biometeorology.

[17]  Martin Dijst,et al.  En-route weather and place valuations for different transport mode users , 2015 .

[18]  T. R. Herzog,et al.  A cognitive analysis of preference for urban spaces , 1992 .

[19]  T. Tsoutsos,et al.  Evaluation of comfort conditions in urban open spaces. Application in the island of Crete , 2014 .

[20]  Matthew Carmona,et al.  Public Places - Urban Spaces : the dimensions of urban design, Second Edition , 2003 .

[21]  Koen Steemers,et al.  Thermal comfort in outdoor urban spaces: understanding the human parameter , 2001 .

[22]  L. Katzschner.  1 OPEN SPACE DESIGN STRATEGIES BASED ON THERMAL COMFORT ANALYSIS , 2004 .

[23]  O. Romice,et al.  Representing sensory experience in urban design , 2008 .

[24]  Liang Chen,et al.  Outdoor thermal comfort and outdoor activities: A review of research in the past decade , 2012 .

[25]  S. Lenzholzer,et al.  Towards guidelines for designing parks of the future , 2017 .

[26]  U. Neisser.  Cognition and reality: principles and implications , 1976 .

[27]  M. Southworth.  The Sonic Environment of Cities , 1969 .

[28]  R. Downs,et al.  Image and Environment: Cognitive Mapping and Spatial Behavior , 2017 .

[29]  Harry Heft,et al.  Environment, cognition, and culture: Reconsidering the cognitive map , 2013 .

[30]  Khandaker Shabbir Ahmed.  Comfort in urban spaces: defining the boundaries of outdoor thermal comfort for the tropical urban environments , 2003 .

[31]  V. Adams Henshaw,et al.  Route Planning a Sensory Walk: Sniffing out the Issues , 2009 .

[32]  Martin Dijst,et al.  Weather, transport mode choices and emotional travel experiences , 2016 .

[33]  Sanda Lenzholzer,et al.  Microclimate perception analysis through cognitive mapping , 2008 .

[34]  D. Stea.  Cognitive Maps in Perception and Thought , 2017 .

[35]  Erik Johansson,et al.  Instruments and methods in outdoor thermal comfort studies – The need for standardization , 2014 .

[36]  János Unger,et al.  Benefits and opportunities of adopting GIS in thermal comfort studies in resting places: An urban park as an example , 2010 .

[37]  V. Olgyay.  Design With Climate: Bioclimatic Approach to Architectural Regionalism , 1963 .

[38]  Jan Gehl,et al.  Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space , 2003 .

[39]  Pall J. Lindal,et al.  Architectural variation, building height, and the restorative quality of urban residential streetscapes , 2013 .

[40]  Fredrik Lindberg,et al.  Climate and behaviour in a Nordic city , 2007 .

[41]  Sanda Lenzholzer,et al.  Immersed in microclimatic space: microclimate experience and perception of spatial configurations in Dutch squares. , 2010 .

[42]  Sanda Lenzholzer,et al.  Engrained experience—a comparison of microclimate perception schemata and microclimate measurements in Dutch urban squares , 2009, International journal of biometeorology.

[43]  Edward Ng,et al.  Thermal Comfort in Urban Open Spaces for Hong Kong , 2006 .

[44]  T. Honjo,et al.  Thermal Comfort and Outdoor Activity in Japanese Urban Public Places , 2007 .

[45]  R. Kitchin,et al.  Cognitive maps: What are they and why study them? , 1994 .

[46]  Richard Smardon,et al.  Perception and aesthetics of the urban environment: Review of the role of vegetation , 1988 .

[47]  I. Knez,et al.  Influences of culture and environmental attitude on thermal, emotional and perceptual evaluations of a public square , 2006, International journal of biometeorology.

[48]  Lutz Katzschner,et al.  Behaviour of People in Open Spaces in Dependence of Thermal Comfort Conditions , 2006 .

[49]  W. Brewer,et al.  Role of schemata in memory for places , 1981, Cognitive Psychology.

[50]  J. Gibson.  The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception , 1979 .

[51]  W. Klemm,et al.  Street greenery and its physical and psychological impact on outdoor thermal comfort , 2015 .

[52]  A Auliciems,et al.  Towards a psycho-physiological model of thermal perception , 1981, International journal of biometeorology.

[53]  Roberto Lamberts,et al.  A review of human thermal comfort in the built environment , 2015 .

[54]  Sanda Lenzholzer,et al.  Thermal Experience and Perception of the Built Environment in Dutch Urban Squares , 2010 .

[55]  H. Mayer,et al.  Applications of a universal thermal index: physiological equivalent temperature , 1999, International journal of biometeorology.

[56]  Marialena Nikolopoulou,et al.  Outdoor thermal comfort. , 2011, Frontiers in bioscience.

[57]  Terry J. Gillespie,et al.  Microclimatic Landscape Design: Creating Thermal Comfort and Energy Efficiency , 1995 .

[58]  A. Mahmoud.  Analysis of the microclimatic and human comfort conditions in an urban park in hot and arid regions , 2011 .

[59]  Maria-Heleni Nikolopoulou,et al.  Influence of hot arid climate on the use of outdoor urban spaces and thermal comfort: Do cultural and social backgrounds matter? , 2010 .