Microclimate and outdoor leisure activities in China's residential communities: the Wuhan experiment

Abstract

Thermal comfort is an important asset for outdoor spaces. Comfort in dense residential communities has previously been overlooked in design. This paper investigates the correlation between thermal comfort and the use of outdoor spaces in a residential community in Wuhan, China. METHODS: This study focuses on microclimate and occupant behavior in an underused children’s playground in an existing residential community in Wuhan, a Chinese city featuring cold winter and hot summer. Survey results indicated that thermal stress is an important reason explaining the lack of activities on the playground in comparison with other open spaces within the same community. As an experiment, the playground is renovated using specifically designed shading devices and windshields in order to improve thermal comfort conditions in winter and summer seasons. Resident opinions, occupant behaviors, microclimate variables including solar radiation, wind speed, air temperature, and humidity are recorded on site before and after the renovation. Advanced thermal comfort models such as SET* and UTCI are applied to assess on-site thermal stress. RESULTS: Compared with existing conditions, the renovation significantly changes wind speed, solar radiation, and thermal comfort conditions on the playground. The headcounts and duration of activities on the playground have increased after the renovation compared with other open spaces within the same community. CONCLUSIONS: A strong correlation is observed between occupant behaviour and thermal comfort in outdoor spaces. Conclusions from this study can be used to improve existing communities as well as to suggest on guidelines for new developments under similar climate conditions.