title: Urban design, climate + context: Exploring the interplay of thermal comfort and human perception in the case of Lahore, Pakistan.
Creators: name: Mazhar, Naveed
Publisher: name: Environmental Design
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Urban microclimates
subject: Energy budget modelling
subject: Human thermal comfort &amp; and sensation
subject: Human behaviour
subject: Urban design
subject: Human psychology
subject: Spatial perceptions
subject: Environmental design
subject: Environmental Sciences

description: Weather is arguably the most important human thermal comfort factor, both as an actual and perceived component, from a user's viewpoint. The user's received energy, real or presumed, is highly decisive in how well an outdoor space is used. The present study illuminates the human perceptual mechanisms involved in an urban open environment and human thermal comfort assessment, emphasizing hot climates. The primary objective is to identify underlying conditions influencing people's behaviour and usage of outdoor spaces. An in-depth literature review demonstrated that a physiological approach alone is inadequate in characterizing human thermal comfort conditions. Therefore, embracing a holistic approach, a novel conceptual model is proposed, aligning direct and indirect factors. The proposed model, Man vs. Machine, is a two-pronged approach focusing on qualitative and quantitative parameters. This study deciphered the effects of weather parameters (e.g., air temperature, wind, and solar radiation) and personal factors (e.g., place perception, emotions, sensations, and behaviours) on participants' emotional estimations of urban open spaces. Fused with the physical design components, the proposed model distinguishes the simultaneous and equal assessment of the two fundamental characteristics – empirical measurements and subjective human feelings. The study investigated four neighbourhoods – Mohallaz in the Walled City of Lahore, Pakistan. Users of urban open spaces are the fulcrum, and the intended Man vs. Machine conceptual framework is a robust side-by-side comparative analysis of the unique domains of urban microclimates, human psychology, and behaviour. The proposed study model handled only simple computations through the COMFA model to ensure quality results, such as charts of energy budgets and the total amount of radiation absorbed by a person ( Rabs) and a comparative analysis. At the collective level, the comparative charts based on site surveys informed the behavioural pattern(s) obtained from a 20-day field study comprising 800 respondents. At the individual level, cross-comparisons of thermal comfort and spatial perception helped derive theoretical and practical environment-behaviour relationship(s). The final results, derived from 800 studies, were categorized into two key factors: a) the site’s microclimate and b) the user’s spatial psychology. The analysis revealed that 65% of respondents (520 out of 800) sitting outdoors during summer felt satisfied with their experience. However, it is crucial to note that despite these perceptions of spatial satisfaction, 62% of the recorded time data indicated that respondents were vulnerable to danger or extreme danger of heat stress, according to the HTCI scale. The study determined that outdoor thermal discomfort is peripheral for users compared to the sense of place factor. The motivational factors with the most demonstrable impact on human spatial perception(s) and outdoor open space usage are space uniqueness, spatial affinity and individual features of traditional Mughal architecture. The study is groundbreaking, unique, and unparalleled in the realm of hot-climate cities. It represents a substantial and valuable advancement in comprehending the psychological factors that impact human thermal perception and behaviour in urban environments, with implications for urban design. The results of this research aimed to change how architects and environmental behaviour experts approach urban design and improve the built environments by using design recommendations outlined in the research.