Thermally comfortable outdoor spaces have contributed to high-quality urban living. In order to provide a further understanding of the influences of gender and long-term thermal history on outdoor thermal comfort, this study conducted field surveys at a university campus in Shanghai, China by carrying out microclimatic monitoring and subjective questionnaires from May to October, 2019. The analysis of collected data found that, during our survey, 57% of the occupants felt comfortable overall and 40–60% of them perceived the microclimate variables (air temperature, humidity, solar radiation, and wind speed) as “neutral”. The universal thermal climate index (UTCI) provided a better correlation with occupant thermal sensation than the physiologically equivalent temperature (PET). Females were more sensitive to the outdoor thermal environment than males. Older age led to lower thermal sensation, but the thermal sensitivities for age groups of 50 were similar. Occupants who had resided in Shanghai for a longer period showed higher overall comfort rating and lower thermal sensation. Interviewees who came from hot summer and cold winter climate regions were less effected by the change of UTCI than those from severe cold or cold climate regions.

Many of the sustainable urban development issues, such as human heath, energy consumption, carbon emission, are related to the climate of cities. As a result, research insights gained in urban climate study can be applied to improve urban sustainability. Although the Local Climate Zones (LCZ) scheme was originally proposed to provide a standardized classification of landscapes to study urban air temperature, its use was not limited to the study of urban heat islands. This study explores the applications of LCZ scheme in various research domains by conducting a bibliometric analysis in CiteSpace on over 800 articles that cites the original article of LCZ. These articles cover a wide range of research categories including meteorology, atmospheric science, environmental science, remote sensing, building technology, civil engineering, ecology, urban studies, etc. The LCZ scheme facilitates urban climate data collection by refining monitoring network, providing reasonable modelling input, and improving database documentation. In addition to the study of urban heat islands, the LCZ scheme was applied in studies of urban thermal comfort, human health, building energy consumption, and carbon emission. The diffusion of the LCZ scheme to other research domains offers an example that the development of urban climate research advances sustainable urban development. This review provides insights of multidisciplinary studies related to urban climate for policy-makers, urban specialists, architects, ecologists, and others.

Creating a favorable thermal environment in an outdoor space is essential for attracting more occupants to outdoor areas and vitalizing a city. It is possible to study occupants’ needs in an outdoor thermal environment by observing their attendance and behaviors, since people may exhibit certain adaptive measures, such as seeking shade, using parasols, etc., “vote with their feet”, or even leave the space, if they feel uncomfortable. In order to investigate the influence of thermal environment on attendance and adaptive behaviors in outdoor spaces, in this study we carried out field campaigns in a university campus in a cold-climate city. The thermal environment was monitored, while surveys of thermal perceptions and observations of attendance and adaptive behaviors were conducted. Through the data analyses, it was found that the thermal environment had a great impact on the attendance of optional activities, but necessary activities were not influenced. The greatest influence on attendance came from air temperature. The influences of wind and humidity on attendance were found to be coupled with that of air temperature. Adaptive behaviors, such as seeking shade, using parasols, changing clothes, and changing the lengths of stay, were also greatly influenced by air temperature.

As people develop higher standards for the beauty of urban architecture, more and more architectural designs are exploring sources of natural lighting, such as glass curtain walls and glass domes. However, the pursuit of architectural design aesthetics introduces glare into buildings, which can be uncomfortable and even dangerous for health. Scholars in related fields have carried out many theoretical studies and design activities based on this problem. In this study, we focus on issues of glare in public buildings, aiming to improve light comfort by solving this problem. First, we propose an improved design strategy based on IDEO design thinking by adding the step of diverging from the design scheme. Second, guided by the results of a questionnaire survey and light environment simulations, we avoided the subjective simplicity of the traditional design process. Third, taking the main library of Shanghai Jiao Tong University as an example, we designed a movable sunshade that could effectively reduce glare effects and improve visual comfort, which improved the light comfort in public buildings. The simulation results show that the proposed design can be useful in buildings to effectively control glare and improve visual comfort and health.

With the development of architectural technology, the use of floor-to-ceiling windows has emerged widely. The ensuing problem is that more and more students and office workers are suffering from direct sunlight while working in specific areas. Based on the pain points of the working process, this study designed a portable product for improving visual comfort through field research and environment simulation. It provided a new personalized design for blocking direct sunlight from the working area using a portable and liftable sunshade curtain, allowing the users to control the height and angle of the sunshade curtain through a mobile phone application. It can also adjust itself according to environmental parameters collected by sensors, so as to block sunlight in certain areas. A simulation based on the design features and the light environment of a library is run, proving the model effective in improving these aspects. The study aimed to provide solutions for indoor visual comfort and suggestions for future indoor household designs.

The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between occupants’ emotional attitude, decision behavior, and environmental cognition toward window seats and learning efficiency and the mechanism of this relationship in public spaces (represented by academic libraries). Surveys were delivered to the academic library of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. A total of 280 valid face-to-face interview questionnaires was collected and analyzed for correlation and validation of theoretical models. The results show that learning experience, as a mediator of learning efficiency, has a significant impact on the model of occupants’ attitude toward window seat consumption. The impact mechanism was determined, and it indicated that in order to improve the learning efficiency of occupants, indoor re-planning should be carried out to improve the seat satisfaction and occupancy rate. This study introduces the concepts of service design and architectural consumption and constructs an occupant emotional consumption context with the window seat as the consumption product. In addition, it also has guiding value for seat reallocation in public buildings in the COVID-19 era. This theoretical framework provides a direction for the simulation of future construction consumption behavior.