Design for Outdoor Thermal Comfort: Assessing the Perceptual Factors in the Experience of Heat in the Built Environment

Mohsen Garshasby Moakhar (Arizona State University)

Increasing heat in urban environments is a prevailing issue concerning all climate zones, particularly because urban heat at the microscale affects the livability, accessibility, quality of life and well-being of individuals in these outdoor environments. Architects and urban designers have attempted to address these issues in their practices, however, this study aims at proving an empirical foundation to better inform such attempts in future works.

This paper aims to address multiple issues including whether (and to what extent) perceptual factors have an influence on the experience of heat independent of meteorological factors. In the first study (pilot), a hypothesis was tested to see whether familiarity (experience) as a perceptual factor within individuals has an impact on the experience of heat. A total of 90 students were recruited in the study. They were asked to select two streets based on their familiarity and participate in a walk and talk study. They had to walk in the familiar street, followed by the unfamiliar street, record a video simultaneously and narrate their experience, and fill out an online survey immediately after that. I used a convergent design approach to use both quantitative and qualitative data to address whether perceptual factors have an impact on the overall perception of heat and thermal comfort. I conducted T-Test and the preliminary analysis of data shows a significant relationship between familiarity and experienced heat (rating perceived temperature).

Keywords: urban heat, thermal comfort, perceived heat experience