Temporal-Spatial Thermal Comfort Across Urban Blocks with Distinct Morphologies in a Hot Summer and Cold Winter Climate: On-Site Investigations in Beijing
Urban outdoor thermal comfort (OTC) has become an increasingly critical issue under the pressures of urbanization and climate change. Comparative analyses of urban blocks with distinct spatial morphologies are essential for identifying OTC issues and proposing targeted optimization strategies. Howev...
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MDPI AG
2025-07-01
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| author | Tengfei Zhao Tong Ma |
| author_facet | Tengfei Zhao Tong Ma |
| author_sort | Tengfei Zhao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Urban outdoor thermal comfort (OTC) has become an increasingly critical issue under the pressures of urbanization and climate change. Comparative analyses of urban blocks with distinct spatial morphologies are essential for identifying OTC issues and proposing targeted optimization strategies. However, existing studies predominantly rely on microclimate numerical simulations, while comparative assessments of OTC from the human thermal perception perspective remain limited. This study employs the thermal walk method, integrating microclimatic measurements with thermal perception questionnaires, to conduct on-site OTC investigations across three urban blocks with contrasting spatial morphologies—a business district (BD), a residential area (RA), and a historical neighborhood (HN)—in Beijing, a hot summer and cold winter climate city. The results reveal substantial OTC differences among the blocks. However, these differences demonstrated great seasonal and temporal variations. In summer, BD exhibited the best OTC (mTSV = 1.21), while HN performed the worst (mTSV = 1.72). In contrast, BD showed the poorest OTC in winter (mTSV = −1.57), significantly lower than HN (−1.11) and RA (−1.05). This discrepancy was caused by the unique morphology of different blocks. The sky view factor emerged as a more influential factor affecting OTC over building coverage ratio and building height, particularly in RA (r = 0.689, <i>p</i> < 0.01), but its impact varied by block, season, and sunlight conditions. North–South streets generally perform better OTC than East–West streets, being 0.26 units cooler in summer and 0.20 units warmer in winter on the TSV scale. The study highlights the importance of incorporating more applicable physical parameters to optimize OTC in complex urban contexts and offering theoretical support for designing climate adaptive urban spaces. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-cae69074c25f4028befd986835ef84d3 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-cae69074c25f4028befd986835ef84d32025-08-20T03:13:39ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332025-07-0116785510.3390/atmos16070855Temporal-Spatial Thermal Comfort Across Urban Blocks with Distinct Morphologies in a Hot Summer and Cold Winter Climate: On-Site Investigations in BeijingTengfei Zhao0Tong Ma1College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, ChinaCollege of Architecture and Urban Planning, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, ChinaUrban outdoor thermal comfort (OTC) has become an increasingly critical issue under the pressures of urbanization and climate change. Comparative analyses of urban blocks with distinct spatial morphologies are essential for identifying OTC issues and proposing targeted optimization strategies. However, existing studies predominantly rely on microclimate numerical simulations, while comparative assessments of OTC from the human thermal perception perspective remain limited. This study employs the thermal walk method, integrating microclimatic measurements with thermal perception questionnaires, to conduct on-site OTC investigations across three urban blocks with contrasting spatial morphologies—a business district (BD), a residential area (RA), and a historical neighborhood (HN)—in Beijing, a hot summer and cold winter climate city. The results reveal substantial OTC differences among the blocks. However, these differences demonstrated great seasonal and temporal variations. In summer, BD exhibited the best OTC (mTSV = 1.21), while HN performed the worst (mTSV = 1.72). In contrast, BD showed the poorest OTC in winter (mTSV = −1.57), significantly lower than HN (−1.11) and RA (−1.05). This discrepancy was caused by the unique morphology of different blocks. The sky view factor emerged as a more influential factor affecting OTC over building coverage ratio and building height, particularly in RA (r = 0.689, <i>p</i> < 0.01), but its impact varied by block, season, and sunlight conditions. North–South streets generally perform better OTC than East–West streets, being 0.26 units cooler in summer and 0.20 units warmer in winter on the TSV scale. The study highlights the importance of incorporating more applicable physical parameters to optimize OTC in complex urban contexts and offering theoretical support for designing climate adaptive urban spaces.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/16/7/855thermal walkmicroclimateoutdoor thermal comfortthermal perceptionspatial morphology |
| spellingShingle | Tengfei Zhao Tong Ma Temporal-Spatial Thermal Comfort Across Urban Blocks with Distinct Morphologies in a Hot Summer and Cold Winter Climate: On-Site Investigations in Beijing Atmosphere thermal walk microclimate outdoor thermal comfort thermal perception spatial morphology |
| title | Temporal-Spatial Thermal Comfort Across Urban Blocks with Distinct Morphologies in a Hot Summer and Cold Winter Climate: On-Site Investigations in Beijing |
| title_full | Temporal-Spatial Thermal Comfort Across Urban Blocks with Distinct Morphologies in a Hot Summer and Cold Winter Climate: On-Site Investigations in Beijing |
| title_fullStr | Temporal-Spatial Thermal Comfort Across Urban Blocks with Distinct Morphologies in a Hot Summer and Cold Winter Climate: On-Site Investigations in Beijing |
| title_full_unstemmed | Temporal-Spatial Thermal Comfort Across Urban Blocks with Distinct Morphologies in a Hot Summer and Cold Winter Climate: On-Site Investigations in Beijing |
| title_short | Temporal-Spatial Thermal Comfort Across Urban Blocks with Distinct Morphologies in a Hot Summer and Cold Winter Climate: On-Site Investigations in Beijing |
| title_sort | temporal spatial thermal comfort across urban blocks with distinct morphologies in a hot summer and cold winter climate on site investigations in beijing |
| topic | thermal walk microclimate outdoor thermal comfort thermal perception spatial morphology |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/16/7/855 |
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