Nazar Research Center for Art, Architecture and Urbanism (NRC) The Monthly Scientific Journal of Bagh-e Nazar 1735-9635 22 143 2025 04 21 Examining the Impact of Thermal Comfort on the Desirability of Spatial Territorial Formation (Case Study: Saf (Sepahsalar) Pedestrian Street, Tehran) Examining the Impact of Thermal Comfort on the Desirability of Spatial Territorial Formation (Case Study: Saf (Sepahsalar) Pedestrian Street, Tehran) 53 72 218879 10.22034/bagh.2025.481861.5677 FA Elham Shahabi Ph. D. Candidate, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, Tabriz Islamic Art University, Tabriz, Iran. Yaser Shahbazi Associate Professor, Department of Architectural Technology, Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, Tabriz Islamic Art University, Tabriz, Iran. Azita Balali Oskui Full Professor, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, Tabriz Islamic Art University, Tabriz, Iran. Journal Article 2024 10 05 Problem statement: Humans are inherently social and require personal space to maintain comfort, both individually and in groups. Territoriality is essential for structuring one’s environment and expressing identity. Defining territorial boundaries is a key step in placemaking and spatial identity. Understanding how territoriality forms involves examining theoretical indicators. Among these, thermal discomfort can cause a sense of congestion and influence how people define their space. This research investigates how thermal comfort impacts spatial territoriality, using public space as the study context due to its limited options for personalization.<br />Research objective: The purpose of this research is to validate the hypothesis that thermal comfort, a territoriality prerequisite in human environments, is a determining factor of spatial territorial formation desirability. It also explores the underlying values of indicators of territorial formation in the case study environment.<br />Research method: The present research is based on an inductive methodology and adopts a mixed-methods research design. The metrics regarding territorial formation and the underlying theory were established through qualitative data collection and an extensive literature review. The research incorporates thermal comfort simulations based on the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) for identifying thermal comfort zones within given territories. In response to the research question of how people prefer thermally uncomfortable spaces as attractive territories, a comparative analysis was conducted using both direct tracking and saturation sampling approaches. The findings show that users interact with thermally uncomfortable areas. The research goes further beyond these findings by trying to uncover the underlying meaning of indicators of territorial construction through a one-sample T-test, and it also examines gender differences using an independent-sample T-test.<br />Conclusion: As opposed to the initial study hypothesis, the study findings reveal that the preferred areas of the case study participants are not thermally comfortable. The T-test also shows gender differences in relation to the perceived importance of signs of territorial formation. Problem statement: Humans are inherently social and require personal space to maintain comfort, both individually and in groups. Territoriality is essential for structuring one’s environment and expressing identity. Defining territorial boundaries is a key step in placemaking and spatial identity. Understanding how territoriality forms involves examining theoretical indicators. Among these, thermal discomfort can cause a sense of congestion and influence how people define their space. This research investigates how thermal comfort impacts spatial territoriality, using public space as the study context due to its limited options for personalization.<br />Research objective: The purpose of this research is to validate the hypothesis that thermal comfort, a territoriality prerequisite in human environments, is a determining factor of spatial territorial formation desirability. It also explores the underlying values of indicators of territorial formation in the case study environment.<br />Research method: The present research is based on an inductive methodology and adopts a mixed-methods research design. The metrics regarding territorial formation and the underlying theory were established through qualitative data collection and an extensive literature review. The research incorporates thermal comfort simulations based on the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) for identifying thermal comfort zones within given territories. In response to the research question of how people prefer thermally uncomfortable spaces as attractive territories, a comparative analysis was conducted using both direct tracking and saturation sampling approaches. The findings show that users interact with thermally uncomfortable areas. The research goes further beyond these findings by trying to uncover the underlying meaning of indicators of territorial construction through a one-sample T-test, and it also examines gender differences using an independent-sample T-test.<br />Conclusion: As opposed to the initial study hypothesis, the study findings reveal that the preferred areas of the case study participants are not thermally comfortable. The T-test also shows gender differences in relation to the perceived importance of signs of territorial formation. https://www.bagh-sj.com/article_218879_920e6532e5f73929ac6ab176aeb7e978.pdf