Michal Lehnert from the Department of Geography, UP Faculty of Science, received the prestigious 2021 Best Paper Award from a Young Author from the journal Building and Environment. His article, ‘Comparison between mental mapping and land surface temperature in two Czech cities: A new perspective on indication of locations prone to heat stress’, won out against tough international competition.
“Naturally, I appreciate the award, though in the context of what’s happening nowadays, one cannot really be happy about such things. At the same time, I must emphasise that the article would not have been created without the cooperation with Jiří Pánek from the Department of Development and Environmental Studies and without the help of colleagues from the Institute of Computer Science of the Czech Academy of Sciences and the University of West Bohemia,” said Lehnert, in gratitude.
Using the examples of the cities of Olomouc and Plzeň, the authors of the study used mental maps to find out which localities people consider unpleasant on the basis of their long-term experience during hot summer days. At the same time, they described the differences between these mental hotspots for certain groups of respondents. The spatial pattern of the detected mental hotspots was then compared with the places that have the highest surface temperature in cities.
One of the main findings of the research is that sites with the highest surface temperatures do not always correspond to those identified by people. Depending on the chosen comparison criterion, the mental hotspots and the actual surface temperature hotspots overlap by less than half and in some cases only in single digit percentages of their area.
The obtained results do not only contribute to the understanding of the mental component of thermal comfort, but they also have a practical significance. Many places where people often feel heat stress have so far escaped the attention of local governments. For example, in Olomouc, in addition to expected localities such as the Upper and Lower Squares or the area in the front of the main railway station, people have associated heat stress with the localities of Hodolanská, Divišova, Litovelská, Palackého, Svornosti, and Schweitzerova streets, parts of the Povel neighbourhood, and the University Hospital complex. “I am glad that the results of the study also found application in the Adaptation and Mitigation Strategy of the City of Olomouc. A continuation of the study is currently being prepared which will focus on citizens’ preferences with regard to the reduction of heat stress in the city,” added Lehnert.
Approximately 4,500 articles were submitted to Building and Environment in 2021, out of which the three best works were chosen for awards; one goes to a young author, in this case, UP’s Michal Lehnert.