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Customized rating assessment of climate suitability (CRACS): climate satisfaction evaluation based on subjective perception

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Abstract

Climate not only influences the behavior of people in urban environments but also affects people’s schedules and travel plans. Therefore, providing people with appropriate long-term climate evaluation information is crucial. Therefore, we developed an innovative climate assessment system based on field investigations conducted in three cities located in Northern, Central, and Southern Taiwan. The field investigations included the questionnaire surveys and climate data collection. We first analyzed the relationship between the participants and climate parameters comprising physiologically equivalent temperature, air temperature, humidity, wind speed, solar radiation, cloud cover, and precipitation. Second, we established the neutral value, comfort range, and dissatisfied range of each parameter. Third, after verifying that the subjects’ perception toward the climate parameters vary based on individual preferences, we developed the customized rating assessment of climate suitability (CRACS) approach, which featured functions such as personalized and default climate suitability information to be used by users exhibiting varying demands. Finally, we performed calculations using the climate conditions of two cities during the past 10 years to demonstrate the performance of the CRACS approach. The results can be used as a reference when planning activities in the city or when organizing future travel plans. The flexibility of the assessment system enables it to be adjusted for varying regions and usage characteristics.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Architecture, National Cheng Kung University, 1 University Road, Tainan, 701, Taiwan

    Tzu-Ping Lin & Shing-Ru Yang

  2. Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, D-79085, Freiburg, Germany

    Andreas Matzarakis

Authors
  1. Tzu-Ping Lin
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  2. Shing-Ru Yang
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  3. Andreas Matzarakis
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Correspondence to Tzu-Ping Lin.

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Lin, TP., Yang, SR. & Matzarakis, A. Customized rating assessment of climate suitability (CRACS): climate satisfaction evaluation based on subjective perception. Int J Biometeorol 59, 1825–1837 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-015-0990-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-015-0990-1

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