Thermal comfort in urban spaces

This chapter addresses urban comfort beyond thermal physiology. Demonstrating the influence of microclimatic and thermal comfort conditions, an inherent characteristic of the space, on use and activities in urban areas, the work aims to provide a more comprehensive framework for urban designers and planners. Looking at field surveys across the world, it focuses on understanding outdoor thermal comfort and how our adaptive capacity is enhanced through a range of adaptive mechanisms, from conscious actions to a range of parameters in the contextual framework of psychological adaptation, temporality and cultural norms. The work highlights the need for adaptive capacity and thermal resilience at the individual level, as well as spatial scale, supporting environmental diversity. In a warming climate and amidst a global health pandemic, outdoor comfort becomes an important commodity, where the design of open spaces has the potential to play a critical role not only in climate regulation and energy, but also in health, liveability and social cohesion.