Cross-cultural differences in thermal comfort in campus open spaces: A longitudinal field survey in China's cold region

This study aims to identify outdoor thermal comfort (OTC) differences between two ethnic groups (Chinese (CG) and Pakistani (PG)) with different thermal perception and thermal adaption backgrounds on a campus in Xi'an, a city in the cold region of China. A thermal comfort questionnaire was conducted simultaneous with meteorological measurements in five typical campus open spaces during winter, spring and summer. The Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) was approximated as a thermal index to detect differences between CG and PG at a neutral temperature, neutral temperature range, preferred temperature, thermal acceptability range and thermal adaptation behaviors. Results demonstrated that: (1) Clothing insulation of PG was lower than that of CG among seasons. (2) The globe temperature (Tg) was the primary correlate of thermal comfort for both groups (ρCG = 0.866 and ρPG = 0.744). (3) The neutral UTCI of PG (22.4 °C) was higher than that of CG (20.4 °C). The preferred UTCI of PG (19.8 °C) was 3.5 °C lower than that of CG (23.3 °C). The neutral UTCI range of PG (16.2–28.6 °C) was higher and wider compared to that of CG (15.1–25.7 °C). (4) The thermal acceptability range of PG (12.9–28.9 °C) was wider than that of CG (15.8–28.5 °C). (5) PG managed thermal discomfort with clothing and hot/cold drinks as appropriate, while CG preferred changing location and appropriate clothing. Our results show that cross-cultural differences in thermal comfort should affect recommendations for open spaces design on multicultural campuses in China's cold region.