Urban cooling strategies as interaction opportunities in the public space: a methodological proposal

In the context of global warming, cities promote temporary or permanent public space designs based on the integration of various cooling techniques, hereafter called spatio-climatic devices, to locally cool down the atmosphere and preserve urban liveability. Such public spaces create interaction opportunities for citizens to seek thermal pleasure outdoors. To inform about the citizens' thermal experience of these spaces, this paper explores fieldwork and data analysis methods at the crossroads of urban climatology, environmental psychology and urban design. Four spatio-climatic configurations are investigated in the 'Extraordinary Garden' in Nantes (France) through mobile microclimate measurements and ethnographic observations. By applying an 'urban transect' approach, preliminary selected microclimate, behavioural and activity observation data is displayed together with spatial information. This allows to highlight thermal situations induced by urban design and to link them to specific citizen-environment interactions. As a result, this approach contributes to a better characterization of urban cool spots as a strategy for more resilient public spaces.