THERMAL LANDSCAPE: FOUNDATIONS FOR ANALYZING HEAT AND COLD

Abstract

This essay proposes the concept of thermal landscape to read heat and cold as measurable climatic materialities and, at the same time, as phenomena produced through space. Thermal landscape describes the socio-spatial and historical configuration of thermal conditions, arising from the interplay between energy balance and processes of urbanization, infrastructure, housing, land use, and lifestyles. When thermal differences translate into asymmetries of exposure, protection, and response, they constitute thermal inequality, shaped by class, race, gender, and location. This theoretical-analytical argument combines contributions from Climate Geography and Critical Urban Climatology with debates on environmental justice, as well as cultural, media, and rhythmic dimensions of everyday life. It treats heat and cold symmetrically and moves beyond framing restricted to urban heat islands. The essay also argues that thermal reading should be continuous across urban and non-urban spaces, recognizing that thermal landscapes are expressed in neighborhoods, urban peripheries, and rural areas, where infrastructure, land use, and everyday practices modulate thermal comfort and risk.