Pilsen creates an experienced temperature map of the city

The objective: propose measures on how to reduce temperature stress in the summer

With the threat of Covid-19 gradually subsiding, the old problems facing big cities regain their top spots local agendas. At the to - the fact that smart European cities must become better prepared for the occurrence of new heatwaves, like the ones that hit in 2019.

Knowing how its citizens experience temperature in the urban areas is at the heart of a new project in the Czech city of Pilsen. Finding out where citizens feel too hot or on the contrary – where they prefer to take cover from the high temperatures – this is the objective of the experienced temperature map of Pilsen (originally Pocitové teplotní mapy Plzně).

Knowing how well citizens feel at each corner of the city

In order to create its temperature map focusing on the experience of residents and visitors, Pilsen invites them to co-create it together. An anonymous questionnaire, containing three short parts is available on the website www.pocitovemapy.cz (in Czech only).

Users of the online tool can simply indicate how they feel in terms of temperature and therefore create their own version of the map. To do this, they can pinpoint locations or entire areas in the Czech city where they do not feel comfortable.

On the next step, they are invited to do the opposite – point the places where they do feel at ease in the summer. Questions about how often users visit these locations, for what kind of activity and for how long, must also be answered to complete the survey. Finally, users are invited to complete a few profiling questions.

Pilsen inhabitants can indicate how they personally experience temperature in the city. Image by City of Pilsen

The research project is implemented by the City of Pilsen in cooperation with the Department of Geography, the Department of Development and Environmental Studies of the Faculty of Science of Palacký University in Olomouc and the Department of Geography of the Faculty of Economics of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen.

Its purpose is to suggest effective measures to reduce temperature stress in the city during hot summer days. The project is supported by a grant from the Faculty of Science of Palacký University in Olomouc. The emotional temperature map follows the previous bioclimatic analysis of the city's temperature conditions.