Experience of urban thermal pleasure: A qualitative study to the understanding of thermal-scape quality

Abstract

Heat offers humans several qualities such as comfort, but its qualities can go further. The role of heat has improving human well-being such as thermal pleasure has not been well-discussed and investigated. This paper been merely regarded from a thermal comfort perspective and the other perceptual and qualitative roles, we have studied people's real experiences in urban spaces to discover real outcomes in their social life contexts. We used Grounded Theory as a methodological approach in this study–we interviewed 33 participants and made direct observations to collect data on people's perceptions of thermal-scape. Overall, twelve sub-categories and six main categories were generated. Two categories are rooted in people's urban thermal pleasure perception as the causal and contextual conditions: “thermal sources properties” and “spatial condition.” ‘Thermal Distinction’ was identified to be the core category that influenced urban thermal pleasure. The association between these categories leads to physiological, psychological, and behavioral thermal pleasure as a consequence. This process occurs due to necessity (physiological and behavioral perception) or beyond necessity (psychological and behavioral perception). Experience of urban thermal pleasure can be used by the urban planning and design fields to enhance people's well-being and their social life qualities.