Human thermal comfort in the perception of city dwellers:

a seasonal analysis from urban parks and public squares in Sobral – CE, Brazil

Abstract

The city of Sobral, located in the semi-arid Northeast, is characterized by high temperatures and low humidity for much of the year, in addition to being known for the rapid expansion of its urban mesh in recent decades. The constant changes in its urban space, privileging the sealing of the soil to the detriment of the green areas, ended up increasing the increase in local temperature, contributing to a greater thermal discomfort of the city dwellers. However, in a more recent period, Sobral has gained prominence in the execution of public works/policies, on multiple fronts, with the requalification of public leisure spaces, especially the Squares and Urban Parks, promoting areas with greater afforestation and recovery of water bodies, even if the city still has public open spaces that have not been properly restructured/requalified. The proposed research aims to identify and evaluate the perception of city dwellers about Human Thermal Comfort in these open public spaces, confronting this perception with microclimatic analyses carried out in five parks/public squares, based on interviews and seasonal climate measurements. The results show that those public spaces located in more densely urbanized areas and with a high flow of people and vehicles presented a higher thermal load, which was also pointed out by the passers-by of these squares/parks. On the other hand, the Urban Parks and the square closest to the Meruoca Residual Massif presented, especially in the rainy season and pre-rainy season, milder records, consistent with the comments made by city dwellers interviewed that indicate these areas as more comfortable for the practice of sports and leisure activities.