Altitude, climate variables and people’s length of stay in Ecuador squares

Abstract The time people spend in public space is also considered an indicator of their quality. In fact, facilitating people interaction, environment observation and processing of visual impressions it is a crucial dimension. In this sense, the present study applies the descriptive method to understand the incidence of altitude and climatic variables (dry-bilb temperature, wind speed, relative humidity) over the time people spend in two central squares of the Ecuador with similar functional characteristics, located at 2,575.00 and 37.54 meters above sea level. The results show that the people’s maximum length of stay in the squares is recorded when the climatic variables are within the comfort zone; however, it is not a constant that is repeated in the two places of study, which seems to depend on other factors. Variables such as altitude and length of stay in the squares showed a partial correspondence, with people remaining three hours, which is the maximum time identified in this study, in the place located at a lower altitude.

摘要 人们在公共空间的停留时长也被视作衡量其生活品质的重要指标。事实上，能够促进人际互动、支持环境观察与视觉印象加工，是公共空间的核心属性之一。有鉴于此，本研究采用描述性研究方法，旨在探究海拔与气候变量（干球温度（dry-bulb temperature）、风速、相对湿度）对厄瓜多尔两座功能特征相似的城市广场停留时长的影响，这两座广场的海拔分别为2575.00米与37.54米。研究结果显示，当气候变量处于舒适区间时，广场内的人群最长停留时长达到峰值；但这一规律在两处研究地点并不完全一致，其差异似乎受其他因素影响。海拔与广场停留时长之间仅存在部分相关性：在海拔更低的广场中，人群最长停留时长为3小时，这也是本研究观测到的最大停留时长。