Environmental Adaptation of Traditional Lifestyle in Tropical Cities

Abstract.

Under the settings of the occupant population growth, higher building, and transportation masses, traditional houses in a tropical climate are not designed as a consequence of the optimal model in rural environments with improved air circulation and lower noise sources as original types in the past. Those conditions take consequences on occupational adaptation, physically and psychologically. The study intended to analyze the occupant’s sensitivity and adaptation to heat and noise environments. The tropical environment, which is represented by geographical altitude, lowland, and upland, was taken as the study location. The number of surviving traditional houses was 19 houses as the representative numbers, both lowland and upland areas, with 71 occupants as the respondents. The thermometer and sound level meter instruments were set at occupant reference height and used to obtain simultaneous results with an interview. The result emphasized that psychologically, the environmental settings result in accumulative effects on votes, different altitudes, and urban growth results in different thermal votes and noise preferences. The occupant indices are not significant factors. However, males are the most sensitive in higher conditions, and females have the lowest noise preference for comfort. The close-the-building aperture is the most frequently used as passive method for noise regulation, while it is also flexible in combining with heat control.

Introduction

The interaction between individuals and their built and physical setting generates environmental psychology [1]. It examines the effect on human understandings by their existence and behavior, as well as the effect of personalities on the location, that is, factors inducing environmental presentation and conduct to encourage pro-environmental performance. Most of the individuals within the background optimize their association with the given atmosphere over environmental adjustment, behavioral, and normative adaptation, and such optimization procedures are constantly transformed by the objectives and determinations of their activities concerning the social and physical background [2].

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As pro-environmental actions, which have been well-defined as personal behaviors affecting the sustainability of the environment, in the high compactness of urban environment in the tropical region, thermal and noise have concurrent consequences on the enclosed atmosphere in addition to the whole environmental issues. The indoor comfort requirement determines the different environmental considerations, such as indoor air quality (IAQ), thermal, luminous, and sonic environments standards [3]. It has both physical and psychological effects on occupant adaptation, especially for traditional buildings that have experienced changing environments. In free-running tropical buildings as in traditional housing, when the temperature and air humidity might be modified difficulty without artificial resources, their occupants request a higher wind speed [4].

In a noisy environment, annoyance as a reaction indicator should be evaluated with caution for non-acoustical reasons, such as economic, cultural, and social situations ([5,6]). As Samodra [7] explained, the effect of one factor on the others only or partial argument has been resulted by related research ([8,9,10,11]). However, the tropical environment results in a contradictive requirement between thermal and noise control, which is not much discussed by preceding findings. Therefore, this study aims to examine the traditional lifestyle and its adaptation to the urban environment through the perception evaluation of the occupants.

Research method

The study examined the traditional building occupant’s sensitivity and adaptation to the thermal and noise conditions with lowland Javanese houses (Surabaya, 0-50m above MSL) and in the highland or upland (Malang, 440-667m above MSL). The physical height, and altitude, are the typical setting of the tropical climate in Indonesia. The objects in both lowland and upland areas are 6x7m2 in normal size (Figure 1.). Recently, wood (TLwood = 18 dB) has been used for the walls as acoustic properties. For thermal properties, wood (U-value = 3.19 W/mK, Tlag = 0.3 hours) has been applied for the housing walls and the roofs have been made from the traditional tile (U-value = 0.84 W/mK, Tlag = 1 hour).

As a continuation of the previous study [12], the existence of traditional houses was 19 objects and the 71 respondents of the field study (general note: clothing = 0.16 to 0.57 and metabolic rate = 0.8 to 1.7, indicating “sleeping to working” actions), see Table 1. The thermal instruments-thermometer and the noise measurement tools-sound level meter were set at a reference height of the occupant (1.5 m) and conducted to measure the 24-hour conditions and simultaneously results with an interview in the critical time. Furthermore, the interview schedule was organized at the critical time, the hottest, and the noisiest time (weekday/weekend, around 12:00 to 18:00). In this survey, following the seven scale standards, the thermal vote is set for the temperature poll with a further assessment of noise sensitivity based on the occupant vote on noise (Table 2.).

Result and Discussion

Occupant Response to Their Environment

In general, the hotter atmosphere and more noisy conditions of the lowland than in the upland stimulate the respondents to elect the high part options (Figure 2.). Although the condition is more cooling and lower in noise, psychologically, the environmental settings result in accumulative impacts on their votes. Because of more distance from the noise source, some occupants still feel slightly quiet or quiet in a little percentage. In addition to, Samodra et al [12], the tropical comfort shift has contributed to changing human adaptation.

The colder atmosphere of the upland tropical region is perceived in the distributed votes, which tends to be a neutral choice. The neutral vote still implies a comfort requirement in the general state. Comparable to the thermal, because the objects are located frequently in the settlement zone, which is more detached from the urban road as the location of the primary noise source, the noise in the upland is supposed as scattered polls. The regression (R2) of thermal in the upland is lower than 0.5. It shows that even though it has ascended trend, in general, it is distributed, hot in the afternoon, and cool at night. The noise votes on average for both lowland and highland tend to have neutral feelings. In general, it indicates that in high or little noise, the residents vote for a tolerable noise. Meanwhile, the findings reveal that there less than 50% of respondents vote. That distributed results are affected by the unpredictable noise generator, numerous building locations, and the occupant’s compliance as adaptation.

In the critical time, the hot and noisy results tend to result in high choice (Figure 3.). Meanwhile, different votes are found for some conditions that indicate a similar condition in temperature and noise level. It signifies that the respondents have unique adjustments or adaptations based on their human index as well as on the condition of their local environment and building. The linear trend line also shows that between lowland and upland regions, the perception of thermal comfort results in a neutral vote for the temperature, 29.3°C. Although there is a difference in the climate and comfort zone, the occupants can control the temperature.

Zero votes for the lower section (-3 to 0) show the features of the critical condition in noise, it is dissimilar to the usual condition. The higher noise source does not always result in a higher noisy sensation and vice versa. It may be a different method and capability in noise adaptation. Following to initial study [12], based on equations of trend line linear, if x (vote) is 0, y (temperature) will be 49.9 dBA (in lowland), and in the condition of upland, y (sound pressure level) is 47.8 dBA if x (vote) is zero. It shows that different altitudes with different urban growth result in different building densities and noise preferences. Furthermore, higher noise intensity results in higher adaptation and higher noise thresholds.

Occupant Index and Adaptation Method

The occupant index consists of the type of sex and age. Its elemental breakdown of the hottest time shows that males are the most sensitive in higher conditions, x=3, y=34.2°C, the highest among the others (Figure 4.). They have more massive activities than others. However, the occupant indices are similarly indicated by similar tend-line equations and regression, so they are not significant factors.

In the linear trend line, indicated by the lowest sound pressure level for the highest vote (vote 3), children have the most sensitive to noise perception. In the neutral condition, for children, if x=0, y=48.3 dBA, for females, if x=0, y=47.2 dBA, and for males, if x=0, y=48.6 dBA. It shows that females have the lowest noise preference for comfort. It may be affected by a lower capability in noise adaptation.

The adaptation methods were set as a summary of the occupants’ lifestyle based on characteristics of environmental psychology concepts: Volume adaptation, estimation, and control (Figure 5.). The upland occupants have numerous approaches in medium and self-control or personal adjustment for both passive and active strategies. Individual modification has a correlation with the metabolic rate of occupants. They tend to have light behaviors like sleeping or take resting) if the condition is hot. Lowland occupants perceive the passive technique as being ineffective. A fan is not only cheaper than an air conditioner but also useful for cooling, a significant point for mid-low-income occupants.

The noise estimation as the method of environmental psychology adaptation finds the effort to close the building windows or doors or the “close the opening” method is the best way for higher noise as in lowlands while the self-adjustment is dominantly voted for low noise areas. The occupants are an inability to source interference indicated by no vote for source control (climate and vehicle are the primary sources for thermal and sound problems, respectively). Additionally, closing the opening and self-control are the most straightforward methods. In the lowland, the adaptation method is dominated by closing the opening while in the upland, it has more various ways. All might be affected by direct response to limited or more various aspects of noise.

Table 3. shows that the active method is used all the time in the lowland. Meanwhile, because of security reasons, the passive method is used for a limited time (morning to afternoon) on the weekend when the temperature is high, and they stay at home. Upland is perceived as neutral to slightly warm, so the active method is used in the morning only, and there is no difference between weekdays and weekends. Besides the security motive, the passive method is not used under underheated conditions. Even though it is normal, the requirement of ventilation for air change (health reasons) is not considered as important as thermal comfort.

Although the occupants vote to “close the opening” as the primary system for lifestyle adaptation, the higher source noise does not always cause the reaction to conduct this strategy. The integration response through ventilation needs and house circulation time concerns this situation. The fully opened aperture, window, or door (100%) by the occupant in the morning to afternoon happens when the peak noise is because the prerequisite of heat reduction using ventilation is more vital needs than delivering noise control. Moreover, the total answer to closing the opening at night occurs in the lowland. More than noise control, security reason is the primary justification. It has more critical safety as a larger area of the city than the upland needs.

Conclusion

The result analysis of this research can be summarized as follows: Psychologically, the environmental conditions result in accumulative effects on votes even though the condition may be a lower temperature and noise. Neutral still indicates a comfort condition in the general condition. Different altitudes and urban growth result in different thermal votes and noise preferences. Furthermore, higher sound pressure levels outcomes more excellent adaptation and higher noise limit. The occupant indices are not significant factors. However, males are the most sensitive in higher thermal conditions. Meanwhile, females have the lowest noise preference for comfort. The 'close the opening' is the most frequently used as passive method by occupants for adjusting the environmental noise. It is adaptable to merging with the building's thermal control.

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