Integrating regenerative design with adaptive thermal comfort: insights for sustainable rural housing in India's composite climate

This research integrates regenerative design principles with thermal comfort studies to better understand how adaptive thermal comfort strategies can inform sustainable development in rural settings. Specifically, it explores rural residents' perceptions and adaptive behaviours within Indiaís composite climate, which remains understudied in thermal comfort literature. Field studies conducted in June and July 2020 involved 315 survey responses from 105 participants across eight villages in Bulandshahr district, Uttar Pradesh (India). They were paired with concurrent environmental measurements in typical rural dwellings. Surveys were conducted three times daily to capture shifts in comfort responses and adaptive measures such as moderating indoor air movement, reducing activity levels, and resting to restore thermal comfort.