Heterogeneity in outdoor comfort assessment in urban public spaces

>6°(C) of separation: Exploring the difference between perceived and measured temperature

Questionnaires exploring tourists' perceptions of ideal climatic conditions are argued to be a more suitable data source for the development of tourism climate indices than the utilization and integration of expert opinion and pre-established thresholds. This assumes that those tourist respondents can accurately quantify meteorological conditions at a given point in time, and effectively discriminate between meteorological thresholds of suitable and unsuitable conditions. For variables such as rainfall and sunshine hours, this assumption is fairly reasonable. However, where tourists' perceptions, captured through questionnaire responses, are used to set thresholds for air temperature and thermal comfort, it is important to determine whether those perceptions are valid. Previous studies contest this, indicating considerable differences in perceptions of heat thresholds based on terminology, nationality, destination, and time of the year. In this study, a benchmarking exercise is performed comparing perceived temperatures and thermal comfort to measured values, through questionnaires administered to 984 adults in South Africa. Findings indicated that while 19.9% of responses are within 1 °C of measured temperatures, up to 12.8% of respondents perceive temperatures as being at least 6 °C higher or lower than the measured values. There are no clear geographic or demographic variables that effectively discriminate between accurate and inaccurate responses. When asked to classify their level of thermal comfort, as opposed to quantifying temperatures, results aligned more closely with measures and classifications of effective temperature. Based on these results, we argue that greater caution should be applied when using temperature thresholds derived from questionnaire data in developing and calibrating any biometeorological indices, and focus instead should be placed on catergorized levels of self-reported thermal comfort in environments where raw meteorological conditions are measured.

Health perception and restorative experience in the therapeutic landscape of urban wetland parks during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction

The effects of restoration and inspiration in the therapeutic landscape of natural environments on visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic have been well-documented. However, less attention has been paid to the heterogeneity of visitor perceptions of health and the potential impacts of experiences in wetland parks with green and blue spaces on visitors' overall perceived health. In this study, we investigate the impact of the restorative landscapes of wetland parks on visitors' health perceptions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

In our survey, 582 respondents participated in an online questionnaire. We analyzed the respondents' health perceptions in terms of latent class analysis, used multinomial logistic regression to determine the factors influencing the potential categorization of health perceptions, and used structural equation modeling to validate the relationships between health perceptions of different groups and landscape perceptions of wetland parks, restorative experiences, and personality optimistic tendencies.

Results

The results identified three latent classes of health perceptions. Gender, marital status, education, occupation, income, distance, frequency of activities, and intensity of activities were significant predictors of potential classes of perceived health impacts among wetland park visitors.

Discussion

This study revealed the nature and strength of the relationships between health perception and landscape perception, restorative experience, and dispositional optimism tendencies in wetland parks. These findings can be targeted not only to improve visitor health recovery but also to provide effective references and recommendations for wetland park design, planning, and management practices during and after an epidemic.

Effects of mask wearing duration and relative humidity on thermal perception in the summer outdoor built environment

During the pandemic, face masks are one of the most significant self-protection necessities, but they also cause heat stress. By using the ERA5 (ECMWF Reanalysis 5th Generation) database and the local weather bureau data, the effect of mask wearing on outdoor thermal sensation has been investigated by a survey conducted in the hot summer and cold winter region of eastern China in the summer of 2020. Results show that wearing a face mask for a longer period result in a higher level of discomfort, and the primary source of discomfort is hot and stuffy feelings. The effect of relative humidity is crucial for mask wearers in warm-biased thermal environments, as mean thermal sensation vote (TSV) peaks when environmental relative humidity reaches the range of 70% to 80% and decreases after this range due to the evaporation within the microclimate created by a face mask. Meanwhile, prolonged mask wearing increases participants' hot feelings, especially in warm environments. Specifically, participants wearing face masks for less than 30 min feel hot at a physiological equivalent temperature (PET) value of 34.4 °C, but those who wear them for over 60 min express hot feelings even at a PET value of 24.7 °C. The participants who wear a face mask while walking slowly outdoors have similar thermal sensations to those who do not wear a mask, but are in a higher activity level. The findings demonstrate that mask wearing has a crucial impact on outdoor thermal comfort assessment in a warm-biased outdoor thermal environment.