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A cognitive analysis of preference for urban spaces
Abstract
Preferences for urban spaces were studied as a function of spatial category and nine predictor variables: spaciousness, refuge, enclosure, coherence, legibility, complexity, mystery, typicality, and age. A non-metric factor analysis of the preference ratings yielded four categories of urban spaces: Open-Undefined, Well-Structured, Enclosed Settings, and Blocked Views. These categories are similar to the spatial categories proposed for natural environments by S. Kaplan (1979, Assessing Amenity Resource Values. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report RM-68), who stressed openness and spatial definition as bases for categorization. The Well-Structured category was best liked, with the other categories not very well liked and about equal in preference. Regression analyses revealed three variables as consistent predictors of preference. Coherence and complexity were positively related to preference, and age was negatively related. Overall, the results support the Kaplans' proposal that both spatial and non-spatial factors are important in categorizing environments and in explaining environmental preferences.
... Researchers mention features that may enhance mystery: path curvature, partial concealment, and shade (Gimblett et al., 1985;Hammitt, 1980;Stamps, 2007). Other factors also enhance a sense of mystery, such as naturalness (Asadpour, 2017), walls and the impression of enclosure (Dosen & Ostwald, 2013;Herzog, 1992), visual and motor inclusions (Stamps, 2007). ...
Parks and heritage fortifications are important components of urban green spaces in many cities in terms of benefitting people and urban nature as well as preserving cultural heritage. Heritage fortifications, like parks, can offer various cultural ecosystem services. Therefore, recognising the preferences of their visitors is relevant from the perspective of creating and managing spaces that are people-friendly. In this research, we have attempted to identify the nature of the relationship between mystery, danger and preferences while considering the complexity of these relationships. Therefore, we examined the preferences expressed by 83 participants for 60 fortified and 60 park landscapes in Poland. The research results indicate that in the case of parks, greenery increases the sense of danger, which lowers preferences, despite the mysterious appeal of such scenery. In turn, vegetation in parks should be shaped in a manner that ensures safety. In the case of forts, the feeling of mystery makes the vegetation more appealing, despite the fact that it evokes a sense of danger. The preservation of vegetation on historical fortifications is advisable because it helps to maintain the mystery that some visitors might enjoy. These findings may help to successfully plan and design sustainable urban green spaces that are visually and socially accessible.
... Según la teoría, los seres humanos prefieren espacios con vistas abiertas, y se sienten amenazados por los espacios sin vistas (Graziano & Cooke, 2006;Hall, 1966;Sommer, 1959). Los estudios confirman que la preferencia aumenta con la espaciosidad de los espacios naturales al aire libre (Asgarzadeh et al., 2014;Herzog, 1992;Hur et al., 2010;Nasar, 1994;T. R. Herzog, 1985;Scott, 1993). ...
In theory, preference should increase with spaciousness and moderate surprise, levelling off or decreasing for high surprise. To test this we created three simulated indoor spaces — SMALL (smallest size, dimmest light, smallest window), MEDIUM (medium size, light and window size) and LARGE (largest size, brightest light, largest windows) — and virtual reality walks through each possible pair of spaces. Three groups of 30 students (46 men, 44 women) rated either spaciousness, surprise or preference. Manipulation checks confirmed postulated effects of SMALL, MEDIUM and LARGE on judged spaciousness and of the size of the discrepancy between each pair of spaces on judged surprise. For preference, participants rated a space as more preferred if preceded by a smaller space and less preferred if preceded by a larger one. Preference also increased from low to moderate surprise but decreased slightly for high surprise. Research could consider adult responses to real spaces. Designers would do well to consider dynamic experience.
... Studying the image analysis of cities through adjective index is a research method for evaluating the sense of place, and it has been mainly conducted through a cognitive approach (Hagerhall, 2000;Herzog, 1992). Especially, the study by Joo (2003) explained the overall atmosphere and image of the urban through landscape adjectives. ...
Many cities worldwide adopted varied approaches to build their urban image based on social, historical, cultural, and natural factors and continue their efforts to revitalize. In many Japanese cities, there are various ways to utilize public spaces for urban regeneration. However, studies that prove the effectiveness of this approach are few. Since 2000, Chiba’s “Parasol Gallery” has witnessed urban design activity that recreates public streets into outdoor galleries through exhibition by amateur citizen artists. This study classifies the emotional factors experienced by subjects under different conditions, with the changes in physical environment. It analyzes the relationship between change in emotional factors and experiential recognition of place. The method of study is divided into “days of Parasol Gallery” and “days without it,” and three groups were surveyed: Parasol Gallery’s artists, Parasol Gallery’s visitors, and general citizens. The changes in sense of place of these three groups was verified by factor analysis and regression analysis in terms of five elements: place attachment, the meaning of place, behavior intention, place cognition, and experiential value.
... Researchers have explored the differences in these perceptions among population groups -experts vs. non-experts, or people from varying cultural backgrounds. Herzog (1992) observed that environmental preferences were determined by judging images of urban spaces that fell into four categories: 'openundefined, well-structured, enclosed settings, and blocked views'. Well-structured spaces were viewed the most favourably due to their complexity and coherence. ...
This paper is a methodological and empirical contribution that reports on the results of an innovative on-line survey of streetscape preference. The ratings of experts and non-experts were compared to gauge the reliability of preference for views about streetscape quality. The goal was to evaluate the degree to which a set of streetscape design characteristics were similar among experts and non-experts and what dimensions of streetscape quality had the most agreement. Results show relatively high correlation between measures of streetscape quality and respondent preference, although there were some differences as well. Interestingly, among the six streetscape qualities studied, the quality of ‘walkability’ showed the least agreement among respondents.
... Regarding the application contribution, this article connects two different fields of study: architecture and psychology. In general, from the architectural perspective, studies have analyzed human responses to built spaces taking preference as the main decisionmaking criterion [85,86] and used psychological metrics other than task performance, that is, through self-reports [62,87]; this may be a limited approach. The present study proposes using environmental preferences (typical in architectural studies) and the results of tests analyzing cognitive processes (typical in psychology studies) to bridge the gap between the two disciplines. ...
A fundamental problem in the design of a classroom is to identify what characteristics it should have in order to optimize learning. This is a complex problem because learning is a construct related to several cognitive processes. The aim of this study is to maximize learning, represented by the processes of attention, memory, and preference, depending on six classroom parameters: height, width, color hue, color saturation, color temperature, and illuminance. Multi-objective integer linear programming with three objective functions and 56 binary variables was used to solve this optimization problem. Virtual reality tools were used to gather the data; novel software was used to create variations of virtual classrooms for a sample of 112 students. Using an interactive method, more than 4700 integer linear programming problems were optimally solved to obtain 13 efficient solutions to the multi-objective problem, which allowed the decision maker to analyze all the information and make a final choice. The results showed that achieving the best cognitive processing performance involves using different classroom configurations. The use of a multi-objective interactive approach is interesting because in human behavioral studies, it is important to consider the judgement of an expert in order to make decisions.
... The visual impact of color and height and their oppressive effect on individuals have been addressed in previous studies, along with how they affect individuals' preferences through perceived complexity (Heath, et al., 2000;Karimimoshaver and Asari, 2014;Lim and Heath, 1993;Smith, et al., 1995;Stamps, 1991Stamps, , 1999aStamps, , 1999bStamps, , 2002 and enclosure (Alkhresheh, 2007;Herzog, 1992;Lindal and Hartig, 2013;Stamps, 2005). However, how the color and height of tall buildings might affect psychological restoration is a new topic addressed in the present study. ...
The literature on restoration has paid insufficient attention to the effect of architecture on psychological restoration. The present study investigated the effect of two physical features of tall buildings-height and color-on residents' perceived psychological restoration. Color imaging was used to manipulate the variables. Height and color were each simulated at three levels: tall, medium, and low for height and white, light gray, and dark gray for color, which were paired in different combinations for a total of nine images. Eighty residents of Hamedan, Iran, responded to questions related to the variables of fascination, being away, and restoration likelihood after viewing each image. According to the results, color did not explain restoration likelihood, but the effect of height on restoration likelihood was confirmed. Moreover, the effect of height and color on restoration likelihood was not mediated by being away or fascination. Analysis of the statistical mean of the dependent variable of psychological restoration indicated that, in tall and low buildings , gray colors resulted in higher restoration likelihood, with light gray being more effective than dark gray in the tall building. However, in buildings of medium height, the white color received the highest restoration-likelihood rating.
... The quantitative component of the survey is related to the questionnaires used in Environmental Psychology and Empirical Aesthetics in which respondents use a scale to rate, e.g., their preference for an urban or architectural space, the spaciousness, complexity, or coherence of the scene, and the intensity of the emotions they feel (Coburn et al., 2020;Herzog, 1992;İmamoğlu, 1986;Negami, 2016). In the latter studies, the participants are not located in real places, but they rate the scenes through photographs of them. ...
Experience is everything that appears to consciousness during the encounter of a human being with an environment. A survey that helps people introspect about their place experience and capture that experience through words will be presented. The Environmental Description Survey is an enabling technique in which participants first comment about their experiences by completing a series of sentences, e.g., related to their liking for some architectural element (qualitative part of the survey), and then they are asked to rate their experiences in a 1–10 scale; e.g., How much do you like that architectural element? (quantitative part). The survey is answered after the participants have made an exploratory itinerary in the environment but still being in that environment. The most frequent experiences presented to 35 participants who visited an architecturally relevant area of the Santa Lucía Riverwalk in Monterrey, Mexico, were discovered through the survey. In addition to the frequency of the commented experiences, the quantitative data obtained correspond to the intensity of the experiences, the personal importance they had for the participants, and the chronological order in which they were pre¬sented during the visit to the place. The results obtained through the survey reveal the possibilities of experience that an architectural environment can generate in people. The hybrid technique presented also allows to discover the more relevant aspects of a place related to environmental preferences. Considering the data ob¬tained through this technique during an architectural or landscape design may result in places capable of generating positive human experiences.
Although the environment is related to psychological well-being, the psychological benefits of the built environment—in particular, third places—have been understudied. This study analyzed the psychological benefits of third places, focusing specifically on eating and drinking places. 722 students from the University of California, Irvine, participated in an online survey and answered an open-ended question and photo-based close-ended questions. Findings indicated that cafés and coffee shops can provide psychological benefits like that of urban parks. Interestingly, like urban parks, a large-chain coffee shop was a preferred and pleasant place to rest. The findings also demonstrated that preference for an environment can be related to an individual's place orientedness and perceptions of the restorative quality of, and pleasant sentiment towards, that environment. Collectively, these findings revealed the important role that third places play in the mental health of students in America by serving as places of leisure—like urban parks.
How does heritage emerge, change, stagnate, disappear and/or revive over time? Should heritage be approached as a ‘non-renewable resource’ that needs to be sustained for eternity, or as a ‘renewable resource’ that adapts to change and transformation? Heritage Dynamics deconstructs the dynamic nature of heritage. Heritage as a socio-cultural practice goes through non-linear, continuous lifecycles, where certain factors will be the catalyst for the ending of one lifecycle and the revival for another. Kalliopi Fouseki develops a theoretical and methodological framework of ‘heritage dynamics’, which is used as the analytical thread of six heritage contexts: heritage-led transformation in historic urban places; decision-making on energy efficiency and heritage conservation in ‘everyday heritage’ residential buildings; lifecycles of heritage collections; exhibition dynamics and the impact of participation with emphasis of ‘difficult heritage’; dynamics of dissonance on contested museums and the dynamics of ‘intangible heritage’ with emphasis on flamenco. The book offers a new theoretical and methodological framework that will enable heritage scholars and practitioners to unpack the ways and conditions under which heritage changes. The new theoretical framework will re-orientate current thinking of heritage as a thing, a process or discourse towards a new, more systemic thinking that captures the complexity of heritage. Methodologically, Heritage Dynamics introduces the potential of systemic methods, such as system dynamics, in capturing the dynamic nature of heritage. The new theory and method not only opens up new avenues for theoretical explorations, but also offers a significant tool for heritage managers and policymakers.