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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Built Environ.
Sec. Indoor Environment
Volume 10 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fbuil.2024.1526919

Development of Adaptive Thermal Comfort Model for Urban Park based on Field Survey and Literature Review

Provisionally accepted
Rupendra Subedi Rupendra Subedi 1Hom Bahadur Rijal Hom Bahadur Rijal 1*Supriya Khadka Supriya Khadka 1Naja Aqilah Naja Aqilah 1Prativa Lamsal Prativa Lamsal 2
  • 1 Tokyo City University, Tokyo, Japan
  • 2 Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, Lalitpur, Nepal

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Global warming has caused increase in extreme heatwaves. Research on outdoor thermal comfort in urban park has been carried out in different countries and climatic conditions. However, there is lack of information on outdoor thermal comfort in Nepal. The objectives of this study are to show the thermal sensation of park visitors, estimate comfort temperature, compare the result of thermal indices with previous study and develop an adaptive thermal comfort model for outdoor based on. The data were analyzed through thermal comfort survey and literature review. The study was conducted by using digital instruments and gathered 147 responses. The results showed that 78% and 81% of visitors voted for "4. Neutral" thermal sensation during summer and autumn respectively which indicates that they are highly satisfied with thermal environment of park. Linear regression analysis was used to estimate comfortable Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) and comfortable Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) of the park, found to be 30.0°C and 27.5°C respectively. These indices and outdoor temperature are correlated, and thus adaptive thermal comfort models were proposed based on literature review. The obtained results from field survey are validated with extensive literature review. The comfortable PET, comfortable UTCI and adaptive model are comparable with different studies from different parts of the world having various climatic conditions. The landscape architects and urban planners can use these models to maximize outdoor thermal comfort and create a more comfortable as well as healthy living environments for the city dwellers.

    Keywords: Outdoor thermal comfort, Physiological equivalent temperature, Universal thermal climate index, Comfort temperature, Adaptive mode

    Received: 12 Nov 2024; Accepted: 30 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Subedi, Rijal, Khadka, Aqilah and Lamsal. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Hom Bahadur Rijal, Tokyo City University, Tokyo, Japan

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.