How Thermal Perceptual Schema Mediates Landscape Quality Evaluation and Activity Willingness

Abstract

The use of outdoor space is closely related to local microclimate conditions. Some studies have shown that people form perceptual schemata based on their perceptual experience of microclimate conditions, which leads to perceptual bias, so it is necessary to further investigate how the thermal schemata formed by the accumulation of thermal experience affect the willingness to engage in activities, which will be beneficial to improve the use of urban space. Studies have not explored the relationship between the thermal perceptual schema (TPS), landscape quality evaluation (LQE), and activity willingness. Therefore, it is necessary to further investigate how thermal schemas formed by the accumulation of thermal experience affect activity willingness. A total of 3435 volunteers were surveyed online and divided into two groups, the first group for comfortable weather (N = 1773) and the second group for hot weather (N = 1662), and voted for each of the four dimensions of the five scenarios according to the TPS. This study found that socioeconomic status (SES) and age were the main factors contributing to TPS bias when perceiving the same destination according to TPS, and this difference was consistent in both groups, which affects the willingness to be active at the destination. The study also found that LQE may be a major factor in residents’ willingness to be active in more pleasant weather, while TPS plays a more important role in hot weather conditions. In addition, we investigated the relationship between TPS and residents’ activity willingness mediated by different landscape features and parameter configurations. These results indicate that the TPS formed by thermal experience accumulation affects people’s LQE and activity willingness, and that landscape configuration parameters play an important role.