Approaches to outdoor thermal comfort thresholds through public space design: A review

Abstract

Based on the Köppen Geiger (KG) classification system, this review article examines existing studies and projects that have endeavoured to address local outdoor thermal comfort thresholds through Public Space Design (PSD). The review is divided into two sequential stages, whereby (1) overall existing approaches to pedestrian thermal comfort thresholds are reviewed within both quantitative and qualitative spectrums; and (2) the different techniques and measures are reviewed and framed into four Measure Review Frameworks (MRFs), in which each type of PSD measure is presented alongside its respective local scale urban specificities/conditions and their resulting thermal attenuation outcomes. The result of this review article is the assessment of how current practices of PSD within three specific subcategories of the KG 'Temperate' group have addressed microclimatic aggravations such as elevated urban temperatures and Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects. Based upon a bottom-up approach, the interdisciplinary practice of PSD is hence approached as a means to address existing and future thermal risk factors within the urban public realm in an era of potential climate change.