Interpretive methods for urban comfort and microclimate research

The Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture Annual Meeting happened last month in Baltimore (MD, USA). Unfortunately, I could not attend this year, but Simon Swaffield, my co-author in this paper and my doctorate supervisor, attended and presented this work. This presentation was based upon the methodology applied in my research, which is interpretive, integrative and adaptive.

This methodology is interpretive because it is aimed to ‘make sense’ of the urban comfort phenomena enhancing the understanding of meanings of comfort and contextual elements. It is also integrative as it uses a multi-method approach based upon case studies and a combination of ethnography and microclimate studies. An adaptive approach was also necessary due to the post-earthquake environment in which the investigation was carried out.

Besides Simon Swaffield, Emma Stewart (my doctorate co-supervisor) has also co-authored this work. Below is the presentation delivered at CELA 2014.