Environmental factors affecting living comfort perception in different localities in Sri Lanka

Mohamed Gazzaly Mohamed Thariq; Najim Mohamed Mujithaba Mohamed

doi:10.6093/1970-9870/10865

Mohamed Gazzaly Mohamed Thariq Department of Biosystems Technology, Faculty of Technology, South Eastern University of Sri Lanka https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4348-0396
Najim Mohamed Mujithaba Mohamed Faculty of Agriculture, Sultan Sharif Ali Islamic University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8016-9997

DOI: https://doi.org/10.6093/1970-9870/10865

Keywords: Nature, Space, Shade, Garbage, Stray animals

Abstract

The living in comfort and the consequent healthier life is a reaction to the environment indicated by the absence of environmental stressors. The present study investigated the factors influencing the living comfort perception in an urban and a non-urban locality in Sri Lanka. A survey using a pre-tested questionnaire was carried out to solicit the people’s perceptions on identified environmental factors randomly selecting fifty households from each locality. The results showed the factors i.e., stray animals, dust and garbage negatively affected living comfort in both urban and non-urban localities while temperature, insects, flood, noise, smoke, vibration, and bad odor negatively affected living comfort in the urban locality. Further, the factors i.e., rainfall, wind, humidity and drinking water were not important for living comfort perception in both localities. The factors i.e., water bodies, space, natural beauty, and biodiversity affected the living comfort positively in the urban locality. The factors identified in this study are useful in zoning the localities according to their suitability in relation to public comfort perception. Further, the identified factors can be manipulated to improve the living comfort perception in urban and non-urban localities.

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Author Biographies

Mohamed Gazzaly Mohamed Thariq, Department of Biosystems Technology, Faculty of Technology, South Eastern University of Sri Lanka

He is senior academic presently working as a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Biosystems Technology, Faculty of Technology, South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka. Dr. Thariq teaches courses mainly on animal production and human factors engineering for undergraduate students and research interest includes animal nutrition, goat production, climate resilient animal farming and agriculture ergonomics. He completed basic degree in Agriculture at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, Master Degree in Forestry and Environmental Management at the University of Sri Jayawardenapura, Sri Lanka and PhD in Ergonomics at the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka.

Najim Mohamed Mujithaba Mohamed, Faculty of Agriculture, Sultan Sharif Ali Islamic University

He completed his PhD in water resources engineering from University Putra Malaysia in 2004 and Master of Engineering in Irrigation Engineering and Management in 2000. His main areas of Research are Water Resources Management and Environmental Management. He has published more than 50 research papers.

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