Typology of Outdoor Seating Areas of Restaurants Based on Factors Influencing Their Thermal Comfort. A Case Study of Pilsen City Centre, Czechia

Václav VÍT¹, Jan KOPP*¹
* Corresponding author
¹ University of West Bohemia, Faculty of Economics, Department of Geography, Pilsen, CZECHIA
E-mail: kopp@kge.zcu.cz
Pages: 131-142. DOI: 10.24193/JSSP.2019.2.06

Cite: Vít V., Kopp J. (2019), Typology of Outdoor Seating Areas of Restaurants Based on Factors Influencing Their Thermal Comfort. A Case Study of Pilsen City Centre, Czechia. Journal of Settlements and Spatial Planning, 10(2), 131-142. DOI: 10.24193/JSSP.2019.2.06

Abstract. Due to climate change, the question of thermal comfort in cities is becoming more important in Central Europe. The aim of the study is to design and experimentally verify the typology of outdoor areas of restaurants in terms of their thermal comfort factors, based on a case study of Pilsen´s city centre. The research carried out in 2017 in the city centre of Pilsen investigated what means are used by restaurants to improve thermal conditions and how the location of an outdoor restaurant in an urban area affects its thermal comfort. There were forty-three outdoor areas of city centre restaurants included in the proposed typology, based upon their location. The relevance of typology was verified using a selected set of fourteen outdoor restaurant areas. They were evaluated according to the availability of means for comfort enhancement and experimental measurements of relevant meteorological elements. Type 1 (Square restaurant) exhibited the highest air and surface temperatures. In contrast, Type 2 (Courtyard restaurant) showed the lowest air and surface temperatures and Type 3 (Park restaurant) showed the highest air humidity. Type 4 (Street canyon restaurant) had similar temperatures to Type 1, and air humidity was closer to Type 2. According to the number of Beergarden Days, the days when the air temperature at 9 p.m. was higher than 20 °C, the best conditions for sitting outside throughout the year occur from the second half of June to the end of August. The results of the study can contribute to an improvement in the thermal comfort of customers of outdoor restaurants in cities, especially with regard to the choice of locations of outdoor restaurants and the use of elements that influence thermal comfort.

K e y w o r d s: Beergarden Days, climate adaptation, outdoor restaurant, outdoor climate, thermal comfort, urban microclimate