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Health Effects of Viewing Landscapes – Landscape Types in Environmental Psychology
Abstract
The visible landscape is believed to affect human beings in many ways, including aesthetic appreciation and health and well-being. The aim of this paper is to analyse the range of landscapes used in environmental psychology studies, and the evidence of health effects related to viewing these landscapes. A literature review of publications linking landscapes and health effects was conducted. This reported evidence of health and well-being effects related to exposure to visual landscapes. The results of the review include an overview of the types of landscape used in the studies, the evidence on health effects, the methods and measures applied and the different groups of respondents. The analysis reveals a predominance of studies using only coarse categories of landscapes. Most landscape representations have been classed as “natural” or “urban”. Few studies were found to use subcategories within these groups. Generally, the natural landscapes gave a stronger positive health effect compared to urban landscapes. Urban landscapes were found to have a less positive and in some cases negative effect on health. Three main kinds of health effects have been identified in the study; short-term recovery from stress or mental fatigue, faster physical recovery from illness and long-term overall improvement on people's health and well-being.The study provides an overview of the relationships between health and landscapes arranged in an accessible format, identifying gaps in our knowledge requiring further research. The identification of quantifiable landscape attributes that affect health is seen as an important factor in enabling future landscape design to be of benefit to human health.
... Moreover, a study conducted in the United States concluded that a higher ratio of green spaces was linked with lower racial disparities in COVID-19 infection rates [8]. Furthermore, evidence suggests that a decentralized network of smaller green spaces-as opposed to a centralized spacemakes it easier for users to interact with nature, improving physical and psychological wellbeing [45]. A decentralization strategy may foster horizontal expansion, necessitating a re-examination of planning theories to facilitate sustainable development and sufficient urban design [46]. ...
... The spread of viruses in the outdoor courtyard is influenced by several factors. The organization of spaces for gathering and seating arrangements affects decentralization and social distancing [45,46]. Clustering decreases population density in gathering areas. ...
... Physical factors: The urban layout and physical conditions should enhance decentralization and promote social distancing [42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50]. This can be achieved in various ways: ...
Responding to the events surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, this study explores how to
improve health and wellbeing and reduce infections in outdoor open spaces on university campuses to maximize their potential as a response to future crises. The study identifies the relationship between human behavior (social) and the various physical and environmental elements of these spaces. A case study and mixed-methods approach were undertaken, comprising four modes of inspection: user analysis layer using questionnaires and observations to survey students’ needs and behavior; context analysis layer using space syntax and CFD to examine the space’s physical and environmental conditions; design solutions reflecting an understanding of virus transmission; and a performance analysis layer to test the performance of ‘anti-virus’ courtyards. The findings
demonstrated that students are willing to use the open spaces that they used before the pandemic, at the same frequency. This indicates a need to redesign the current spaces to prevent the spread of viruses. The study highlights the social, physical, and environmental implications to be considered in designs for outdoor anti-virus spaces. It provides a comprehensive process for transforming outdoor spaces on university campuses into anti-virus spaces that meet users’ needs. These findings have implications for the designing and retrofitting of open spaces to reduce infection.
... However, considering the role of urban planning and design in improving the resilience of cities to pandemics, the present study focuses on the crucial role of environmental psychology in reducing people's stress level in cities. This dimension includes factors such as facilitating social interactions while maintaining social distancing (Johnson et al., 2021;Nitschke et al., 2021;Poortinga et al., 2021) and access to green and natural environment (Tokazhanov et al., 2020;Hartig et al., 2003;Velarde et al., 2007). ...
... Environmental psychological principles: First, due to the high stress level during pandemics and increased periods spent at home, one of the most critical principles is the inclusion of nature and airy spaces in residential environments. Natural elements such as plants, vegetation, and private green spaces help lower blood pressure and stress hormone levels and boost immunity (Hartig et al., 2003;Velarde et al., 2007). ...
... Second, access to a green and natural environment is essential (Tokazhanov et al., 2020;Hartig et al., 2003;Velarde et al., 2007). Even though some researchers believe that a higher risk of infection accompanies more access to public green spaces as the possibility of interacting with people increases (Pan et al., 2021), many researchers found a positive relationship between green spaces and reduced risk of COVID-19 (Engemann et al., 2019;Hubbard et al., 2021;Orioli et al., 2019;Russette et al., 2021;Venter et al., 2021). ...
With the global prevalence of COVID-19 disease, the concept of urban resilience against pandemics has drawn the attention of a wide range of researchers, urban planners, and policymakers. This study aims to identify the major dimensions and principles of urban resilience to pandemics through a systematic review focused on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and comparing different perspectives regarding resilient urban environments to such diseases. Based on the findings, the study proposes a conceptual framework and a series of principles of urban resilience to pandemics, consisting of four spatial levels: housing, neighborhoods, city, and the regional and national scales, and three dimensions of pandemic resilience: pandemic-related health requirements, environmental psychological principles, and general resilience principles. The findings show that resilient cities should be able to implement the pandemic-related health requirements, the psychological principles of the environment to reduce the stresses caused by the pandemic, and the general principles of resilience in the smart city context. This framework provides scholars and policymakers with a comprehensive understanding of resilience on different scales and assists them in making better-informed decisions.
... Multiple studies have revealed that urban-forest aesthetics can give people an increased sense of vitality and optimism and expand their energy and performance levels by improving their state of mind. Similarly, urban-forest aesthetics can be defined as the feelings that give people a positive outlook on life and make them feel livelier and more active [10,13,14,[23][24][25][26][27]. A highly aesthetic setting can influence psychology and human behavior by influencing a person's vision. ...
... Traditionally, urban-forest visual aesthetics has had great importance in local communities, as it impacts human health and well-being and serves as the provision for social and tourism services [34][35][36][37][38]. They are accepted in certain world regions as essential natural resources, comparable to soil and water, and are beneficial for physical and psychological well-being [10,14,26,34,39]. The aesthetic quality of urban forests plays a significant role in enhancing the physical health of urban people generating benefits such as reduced stress, enhanced disease recovery, improved physical well-being for the elderly, improved attention capacity, walking motivation, a sense of good health and satisfaction, physical activity, and behavioral improvements [10,13,14,[23][24][25][26][27]. ...
... They are accepted in certain world regions as essential natural resources, comparable to soil and water, and are beneficial for physical and psychological well-being [10,14,26,34,39]. The aesthetic quality of urban forests plays a significant role in enhancing the physical health of urban people generating benefits such as reduced stress, enhanced disease recovery, improved physical well-being for the elderly, improved attention capacity, walking motivation, a sense of good health and satisfaction, physical activity, and behavioral improvements [10,13,14,[23][24][25][26][27]. As a result, the greater the aesthetic quality of urban forest areas is, the higher the health benefits for humans are [13]. ...
Aesthetic experience in a forest can typically be associated with attractive forest scenery that gives people a sense of visual pleasure. Characterized as a visual product based on people’s reactions towards various combinations of landscape settings, features, and objects, this type of natural visual pleasure may benefit people’s well-being, promotes natural and cultural heritage preservation, and encourages the growth of the eco-tourism industry. While most research on forest aesthetics focuses on non-urban settings, this study examines aesthetics in the context of urban forests. This study aims to systematically review landscape aesthetic assessment studies to propose a model for urban forests. We conducted a systematic review of research articles published from 2014 to 2020 by using three research journal databases, Science Direct, Scopus, and MDPI. In total, 55 research articles were identified and qualified for review based on the screening requirements. An additional 26 research articles were also included by using the snowball method to provide better understanding and outcomes for the study. The results were organized into these categories: definitions, benefits, philosophies, approaches, and variables for the aesthetic quality assessment in urban forest areas. In addition, we also found that aesthetic quality in urban forests is highly influenced by visual composition, visual sense, and visual conditions, which have also been proven to be important parts of forest functions and values that could contribute towards the preservation of urban green spaces.
... Environmental psychology is the study of interrelationships between people and their physical environments, including how people perceive and respond to the physical environment [1]. Understanding the physical environment has important implications on how we react to the world around us. ...
... The factors contributing to urbanization, such as population growth and the development of mega-cities, have increased environmental stressors on top of everyday stressors, resulting in information overload. This has led to the increasing incidence of direct attentional fatigue, which causes stress and mental fatigue among urban residents [1]. Natural environments can help reduce stress and promote the recovery of mental fatigue [3][4][5]. ...
The factors contributing to urbanization, such as population growth and the development of mega-cities, have increased environmental stressors on top of everyday stressors, resulting in information overload. This has led to the increasing incidence of direct attentional fatigue, which causes stress and mental fatigue. The attention restoration theory centres on the environment’s capacity to restore attentional deficits and suggests that there are certain qualities in the environment that restore attention, which leads to improvements in our physical, mental, and social well-being. An environment can be restorative through the activation of involuntary attention, which limits the need for directed attention. This study explored for effects of natural, built, and mixed environment types and levels of mystery on attention restoration in university undergraduates. Perceived and actual levels of attention restoration were measured using a perceived restoration scale (PRS) and the digit symbol substitution task (DSST), respectively. A total of 101 participants viewed a restorative image followed by the completion of the DSST and the PRS for each of the 18 images depicting different environments. Actual attention restoration was measured by latency values in the DSST instead of through both speed and error rates due to some operational issues with the DSST which interfered with the full achievement of the study’s aims. There was an effect of different environments and mystery on perceived attention restoration. However, there appeared to be no effect on actual attention restoration, indicating a disconnect between perceived and actual restoration. Further research is required to confirm the specific effects of natural and built environments and mystery on attention restoration.
... On the other hand, COVID-19 pandemic started in the end of 2019 further worsens mental health problems due to fear of future infection, and governments' policies of quarantine and keeping social distance to prevent the spread of the virus in many countries (McGinty et al., 2020;Pierce et al., 2020;Vindegaard & Benros, 2020). Although mental disorder is linked to many factors and some clinical preventions are effective, mental health can be achieved by surrounding environments (Han, 2003;Nikunen et al., 2014;Velarde et al., 2007;Wang et al., 2018;Xu et al., 2018;Zhao et al., 2018). ...
... Urban green spaces are the closest common places for urban residents to experience nature. Existing literature suggested that exposure to urban green spaces reduced disease: obesity and mental disorder through mechanisms including the promotion of physical exercise (Schipperijn et al., 2017), stress reduction through opportunities of psychological restoration (Velarde et al., 2007;Zhao et al., 2018), and the improvement of urban environments through influencing temperature, wind, humidity, rainfall, air quality, and sound quality (Song et al., 2015). Paths stretch to every corner of urban green spaces. ...
Aim
This study checked the effects of landscape types and complexity along path in urban green spaces on perceived restorativeness, so as to provide guidance for path landscape design.
Background
Paths in urban green spaces are not only the connections between places but also places for visitors reducing mental stress and seeking psychological well-being. However, there is a lack of evidence-based research on the effects of landscape composition along the path on restorative quality, failing to provide a cohesive guideline for practice.
Methods
Fourteen videos representing the popular path landscapes in urban green spaces were produced using computer software by adding or/and deleting elements and controlling environmental components. The restorative quality of these videos was measured by Short-version Revised Restoration Scale (SRRS). Statistical analysis was employed to treat the data and checked the effects of different landscape types and complexity on restorative quality.
Results
(1) A significant difference in restorative quality between 14 path landscapes was found, comparatively, the path containing lawn or(and) forest was much better than that containing bamboo and waterscape, and bamboo was a negative predictor of restorative quality; (2) waterscape generally reduced the restorative quality of vegetated path landscape, especially when the landscape possessed higher restorative quality; (3) path landscape complexity had a weak influence on restorative quality.
Conclusions
This study explains how path landscapes affect mental restoration of users, and these findings contribute to enhancing the restorative quality of urban green spaces and have applications for path landscape design.
... However, there exist many types of environments with different proportions of natural and urban components and people, such as along urbanized coasts. It is still unknown how the psychological restoration varies within such heterogeneous environments, and how each component of the environment contributes to forming the restorative experience (Browning et al., 2021;Hartig et al., 2014;Joye & de Block, 2011;Neilson et al., 2019;Ohly et al., 2016;Stevenson et al., 2018;Velarde et al., 2007). ...
... However, a particular strength of this study is that these challenges were highlighted in a newly developed diagram (Fig. 1), and were tackled by assembling a well-standardized picture-set, adopting a valid experimental procedure with a wellperforming adapted perceived restorativeness scale, and controlling for many participant-related covariates. In any case, pictures would not be less likely to result in altered effects than more immersive simulations (Browning et al., 2021;Velarde et al., 2007), and subjective measures are often a good reflection of objectively experienced restoration (Subiza-Pérez et al., 2020). Lastly, the components were only investigated linearly, and not by other curvatures (e.g. ...
Outdoor environments benefit health by providing psychological restoration, but the degree of psychological restoration may vary considerably within heterogenous areas. This study focused on the Belgian coast to quantify the inter- and intra-environment variation in psychological restoration and the influence of natural and urban components and people.
Students (N = 102, 18-30y, 83 % female) rated 52 pictures of ten coastal environments and of five beach-specific locations on a five-item perceived restorativeness scale (PRS) in random order. General linear mixed modelling standardized for individual and study design-related covariates and random effects.
Generally, the average PRS-scores varied according to the scenes’ ‘naturalness’. The PRS was up to 30% higher for beaches, dunes, and salt marshes (PRS ≈ 8/10) than for dikes, docks, recreational harbors, and towns (PRS ≈ 5/10). Green parks, piers, and historical sites scored intermediate. At the beach specifically, pictures taken ‘on a breakwater’ (PRS ≈ 8.5/10) scored up to 20% higher than those taken ‘in a beach bar’ and ‘between beach cabins’ (PRS ≈ 6.5/10). The PRS was also associated with the relative surface area of the picture components. Associations were positive for natural components (i.e. vegetation, sky, and natural underground, not water), negative for urban components (i.e. buildings, vehicles and hardened underground), and unclear for people.
This study confirmed the hypothesized inter- and intra-environment variation in the psychological restoration along the Belgian coast, and highlighted the importance of coastal nature for mental health. The generated insights can lead to better informed policy decisions to maximize the health benefits offered by coastal environments.
... In the pandemic era, these areas turned into safe isolation areas, and this was the challenge in terms of controlling the transmission of Covid-19 in the external environment (Rojas, 2019). Of course, the trend in healthy design will be to provide green spaces as there are several research that deal with the status of visual contact with Nature which enhances psychological and physical health of people (Velarde, 2007) .Re-assigning of open spaces and parks inside the cities have also taken place. The healthy urban spaces may need new spaces and practices for particular use in landscape design such as growing running tracks, that was done in several parks. ...
... The inclusion of natural features might be a valuable way to decrease the feeling of psychological isolation and other effects (Kellert, 2018); (Gang, 2016), and to take care of the roofs of buildings and turn them into living cool roofs (Alnuaimi, 2021). Others have also suggested re-considering the unused spaces such as building roofs (Velarde, 2007) "Also, the importance of preserving the idea of the veranda as an outdoor space has many benefits, such as connecting with Nature, green urban landscape, and offering social contacts between neighbors" (Li, 2017); (Allam,2020). Fig. 6 shows a simulation of how the virus spreads through housing (Eltarabily, 2020) from the point of view of public health. ...
It is well-known that currently, the world is facing the
challenge of the “COVID-19” pandemic: the worst pandemic for a
few centuries. There is a consensus that crowded spaces spread viral
infections. In fact, WHO has found that a relationship exists between
crowded cities and “COVID-19” infections? This means that there
is a dire need now to create good environments founded on healthy
architecture and healthy cities. Undeniably, designers need to
develop new design strategies to produce such healthy and safe
spaces and environments.
This research investigates how to produce healthy urban
environments and spaces in the post-pandemic era. It does so, first
by re-reading the transformation of the new urban spaces during the
pandemic and post-pandemic times. It reviews studies that have
examined the relationships between the pandemics and the concepts
of urban spaces. Thereby, it uncovers the strategies that have proven
to be effective in addressing the effects of pandemics.
The research employs an inductive approach to examine the
phenomenon presented through studies and applications that
preceded the current study. The concepts used for transforming
urban spaces during the post-pandemic period are unraveled. The
research thus constructs a theoretical framework and a model to
articulate design and planning for creating the post-pandemic urban
spaces. It presents the concept of “preventive space” as a strategy,
which can be used to create urban spaces that will deter the spread
of the viral epidemics and overcome the adverse effects of them if
and when they occur.
... 壹、前言 (Velarde, Fry, & Tveit, 2007) (Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989;Hartig, 1993 ...
The relationship between natural environment and human health has gotten gradually
attention. Many studies discussed about getting physical activity from environmental design is best-value healthy lifestyle in one’s lifespan. Natural environment can provide activity or excise, which can promote an increase of physical activity. However, the physical benefits caused by the natural environment were rarely taken seriously. In this study, 30 college students were selected as subjects. Garmin Forerunner 405 GPS Sports Watch and the user preferences and environmental restoration questionnaire were used as the measuring instrument, then we tried to discuss health of the environment from physical activity and environmental psychological restoration aspect. The main findings of this study are as followed: 1. The landscape with sense of restoration is with more natural elements than artificial elements. 2. The subjects prefer to stay where with sense of restoration. But the staying time is not long, maybe because there is not any recreational facility probably. 3. The vantage point in the spatial classification can cause subjects to produce moderate-vigorous physical activity. 4. The landscape with sense of restoration accumulates longer time in light-moderate physical activity.
... Accessing green spaces has confirmed serious benefits for stress management and physical and mental health in many previous studies (Velarde et al., 2007). Although the idea of designing urban and public spaces from a healthy city perspective is not recent, the COVID-19 pandemic can be seen as an opportunity to remind us once again that the social life and pandemic phenomenon should be addressed from the perspective of healthy cities (Eltarabily & Elghezanwy, 2020). ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has re-bought forward the importance of urban open spaces. The scarcities of public spaces and open green spaces have been effective in keeping the city dwellers in their homes due to the need for isolation during the pandemic era. Despite this, cities with sufficient open green spaces have increased the mobility of city dwellers since people interact less with each other. In the process of re-planning urban areas, developing an integrated approach with green infrastructure strategies in parallel with designing resilient cities has the potential to create healthier cities. In this context, the PP-GS (Post-Pandemic Green Spaces) model of the study reveals the minimum amount of green spaces required per capita in the cities, based on the social distance and healthy living principles that emerged during the pandemic. The study examines the required amount of green space in the Denizli urban center based on the PP-GS model from the perspective of healthy cities and proposes spatial suggestions for post-pandemic urban green space planning.
... Another study focusing on the effect of the natural environment also demonstrated a more significant recovery than in city settings (Kaplan 1995;Kaplan and Peterson, 1993). This advantage may have been due to the attraction to nature and color, which positively affected the health and well-being (Ulrich et al., 2008;Ulrich et al., 1991;Velarde et al., 2007). Hutton (2005) and Mazuch and Stephen (2005) positively valued large windows in a room, regardless of city or nature view, because the large window interior feature satiated teenagers' desire to connect to the outside beyond the hospital environment. ...
Although the substantial influence of hospital environments on well-being has been widely recognized, research on the same topic for adolescent patients is limited. This study examined adolescent patients’ preferences in hospital room designs to identify design elements that can potentially promote the healing process. Eight computer-simulated patient room images were developed through the combinations of three design elements: trim style (straight vs. arch), ceiling and floor details (plain vs. decorated), and window view (nature vs. city). Adolescent patients evaluated the images of patient room images using seven preference evaluation words on a Likert scale. Adolescent patients did not differ in preference for either straight or arch trim styles (p > 0.05). Also, the different ceiling and floor details, such as plain vs. decorated, did not differ in the responses (p > 0.05). However, the study results indicated that more adolescent patients strongly prefer the nature view than the city view (p < 0.01), with higher peaceful, comfortable, pleasant, private, and enjoyable perceptions. Therefore, the window view was the most significant among the examined design elements, directing the value of relaxation and connection beyond the hospital environment. The results imply that 3D simulation of the patient room images adopting design elements can quantify adolescent patients’ perceptions of room design in conjunction with the Likert scale. Based on the results of this study, adolescent patient rooms should be designed and developed considering natural stimulation aspects in connection with the outside environment.
... Accessing green spaces has confirmed serious benefits for stress management and physical and mental health in many previous studies (Velarde et al., 2007). Although the idea of designing urban and public spaces from a healthy city perspective is not recent, the COVID-19 pandemic can be seen as an opportunity to remind us once again that the social life and pandemic phenomenon should be addressed from the perspective of healthy cities (Eltarabily & Elghezanwy, 2020). ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has re-bought forward the importance of urban open spaces. The scarcities of public spaces and open green spaces have been effective in keeping the city dwellers in their homes due to the need for isolation during the pandemic era. Despite this, cities with sufficient open green spaces have increased the mobility of city dwellers since people interact less with each other. In the process of re-planning urban areas, developing an integrated approach with green infrastructure strategies in parallel with designing resilient cities has the potential to create healthier cities. In this context, the PP-GS (Post-Pandemic Green Spaces) model of the study reveals the minimum amount of green spaces required per capita in the cities, based on the social distance and healthy living principles that emerged during the pandemic. The study examines the required amount of green space in the Denizli urban center based on the PP-GS model from the perspective of healthy cities and proposes spatial suggestions for post-pandemic urban green space planning. Öz COVID-19 pandemisi kentsel açık ve yeşil alanların önemini yeniden tartışmaya açmıştır. Kamusal alanlar ve açık yeşil alanların kentlerdeki yetersizliği, pandemi döneminde izolasyon ihtiyacı sebebiyle, kent sakinlerini evlerinde hapsolmaya itmiştir. Buna karşın yeterli açık yeşil alana sahip kentler, insanların birbiriyle daha az etkileştiği alanlar yaratmış ve kullanıcılara hareket imkânı sağlamıştır. Kentsel alanların yeniden planlanması sürecinde, dirençli kentler tasarlayabilmeye koşut, yeşil altyapı stratejileriyle bütünleşik bir yaklaşım geliştirilmesi daha sağlıklı kentler yaratmak için bir potansiyeldir. Bu bağlamda çalışmada kullanılan PS-YA (Pandemi Sonrası Yeşil Alanlar) modeli, pandemi ile ortaya çıkan sosyal mesafe ve sağlıklı yaşam ilkelerini temel alarak kentlerde kişi başına düşmesi gereken minimum yeşil alan miktarını ortaya koymaktadır. Yapılan çalışma, Denizli kent merkezinin PS-YA modeline göre ihtiyaç duyduğu yeşil alan miktarını sağlıklı kentler perspektifinden incelemekte ve pandemi sonrası kentsel yeşil alan planlaması için mekânsal öneriler sunmaktadır.
... Among multiple objectives, human health effects of planning, including physical and spiritual dimensions, were already recognized in the earliest large cities in Persia, China, and Greece (Velarde et al., 2007). Throughout history, landscape-health interlinkages have been observed and repeatedly argued for. ...
Landscape approaches are integrated place-based approaches and provide cross-sectoral opportunities to facilitate sustainability transformations. The COVID-19 outbreak has profound ramifications for multiple dimensions of landscapes, ranging from mobility and lifestyle to value to environment and society. Therefore, integrated approaches to "health" have been more vigorously promoted in the policy arena dealing with human-nature interactions. The ecosystem principles of the Convention on Biological Diversity, which resonate with landscape approaches, are generally aligned with integrated approaches to health. However, commonalities and distinctions between these integrated approaches in both political and scientific domains have not been clarified. Drawing on a narrative review of the literature on "One Health," "Ecohealth," and "Planetary Health" as major health-oriented approaches in comparison with landscape approaches, the aspects of landscape approaches to be complemented in addressing health-related challenges were examined in this study. In addition to the review on the intellectual roots and evolutionary pathways, a comparative analysis of these relevant approaches was conducted in terms of three realms including theoretical assumptions, knowledge bases, and research paradigms. The results of the comparative review show that all approaches share systems thinking, interdisciplinarity, cross-sectoral collaboration, and holistic paradigm but differ with respect to their focused management problems, disciplines, and sectors as well as ontological and epistemological underpinnings. Pointing to the recent theoretical and methodological development in integrating health in placemaking, the results of this study suggest that pragmatic landscape approaches could be strengthened by using health-related research paradigms to achieve better constructivism-positivism meeting grounds regarding health-landscape intersections.
... Exposure to natural environments is linked to psychological benefits, such as stress reduction, mood enhancement, and restoration from cognitive and attentional strain, and better mental health (Berman et al., 2008;Hartig et al., 2014;Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989;Ulrich et al., 1991). Just viewing natural landscapes or images, videos, and other simulations of nature may produce positive psychological effects (Gaekwad et al., 2022;Ohly et al., 2016;Shuda et al., 2020;Velarde et al., 2007). These effects are usually explained from evolutionary perspective, which assumes that humans have an innate tendency to respond positively to unthreatening natural environments, because that has been useful for adaptive purposes when evolving in nature. ...
Do humans have a hard-wired tendency to respond with positive affects to nature or do individual's meanings and learning experiences moderate the affective responses to natural or urban scenes? We studied the relative contributions of inherited dispositions and individual factors (childhood and current nature exposure, nature connectedness) on immediate affective responses to nature and urban scenes with Affect Misattribution Procedure (AMP). In the AMP, the participants (N = 316) judged the valence of their affective responses to Chinese characters, which were preceded by nature or urban prime images. Individual factors (childhood and current nature exposure, nature connectedness, gender, age) did not predict immediate affective responses to nature, but childhood nature exposure moderated reported affects following urban images. The results suggest that humans may have an inherited hard-wired tendency to respond with positive affects to nature, whereas the affective responses to urban scenes are more influenced by individual factors.
... The access to the natural environment has an important recreational value for human well-being by reducing the stress impact (Björk et al. 2008;Lafortezza et al. 2009). Therefore, current knowledge predicts that the state of the environment can influence life quality through mental, psychological, physical or physiological processes (de Hollander et al. 1999;Velarde et al. 2007;Nisbet et al. 2010). ...
Most studies of life quality are concentrated on a country-level scale, while local differences within a country or area are less studied. Thus, the effect of the environment on life quality on a local scale remains understudied and is often represented by one generalized common factor. In this study, we investigated the effect of an objectively measured environmental quality variable and subjective reflections of this (perceptions of environmental quality) in relation to life quality in a coastal community. Hence, we tested the effect of objective and subjective water quality measures using a model, accounting for other traditional variables (e.g., income and health) that predict life quality variations. Our findings indicate that perceptions of the environment are strongly associated with life quality, whereas objectively measured environmental quality is associated with life quality to a lesser extent. Thus, our results suggest that the impact of the environment on life quality is mediated via the way the environment is perceived (psychological effects) and less by the actual conditions of the environment.
... Among them, restorative environment studies point to the natural advantages of ecological environments in promoting mental health. A restorative environment is one that facilitates the recovery of physical and mental resources depleted in the development process, not only for general energy but also for abnormal states and long-term well-being [31][32][33][34]. Stress Recovery Theory (SRT) and Attention Recovery Theory (ART) reveal positive physiological and psychological connections between humans and nature from emotional and cognitive perspectives respectively. ...
Anxiety and depression have been growing global mental health problems. The following studies explored the effect of interactive VR scenarios to find a low-cost and high-efficiency solution. Study 1 designed a 2 (anxiety and depression state) ×4 (interactive VR scenarios) experiment, the results of 20 participants showed that the designed scenarios had good restoration and presence, assisting to improve depression mood for people with mild to moderate anxiety and depression. Study 2 further investigated the intervention effects of two environment types (urban and park) and four interactive activities (automatic viewing, free-roaming, fishing, and watering plants in the park environment), based on data from a 10-minute experiment conducted by 195 participants with mild to moderate anxiety and depression. The subjective scales, EEG and EMG, and scenario experience were analyzed and the results showed that: (1) the restorative and present VR scenarios were beneficial in alleviating state anxiety and depression; (2) the restorative environment and presence were significantly and positively related to the reduction of anxiety and depression respectively, moreover, presence mediated the restorative environment on the recovery from anxiety and depression; (3) the environmental settings, the complexity of interaction, human factors, and maturity of VR devices and technology were also key factors that influenced the effects of interactive VR scenario experience and intervention. These studies revealed VR psychological intervention scenarios could be designed with comprehensive factors. Moreover, they might help pave the way for future study in exploring the physiology and psychology mode in virtual and real spaces, enhancing intervention effectiveness.
... To achieve the highest assessments, the inclusion of nature (e.g., trees, plants, and other sources of greenery) is required. Amongst the five environmental criteria, this criterion has been documented widely (e.g., (Ulrich 1981;Kaplan 1993;Tennessen and Cimprich 1995;Kaplan 2001;Aries et al. 2010), whereby a literature review by Velarde et al. (Velarde et al. 2007) documented the many benefits nature brings and which features (e.g. fields, green vegetation, forests) were seminal for each reported health effect (e.g. ...
Daylighting standards provide an assessment method that can be used to evaluate the quality of window views. As part of this evaluation process, designers must achieve five environmental information criteria (location, time, weather, nature, and people) to obtain an excellent view. To the best of our knowledge, these criteria have not yet been verified and their scientific validity remains conjectural. In a two-stage experiment, a total of 451 persons evaluated six window view images. Using machine learning models, we found that the five criteria could provide accurate predictions for window view preferences. When one view was largely preferred over the other, the accuracy of decision tree models ranged from 83% to 90%. For smaller differences in preference, the accuracy was 67%. As ratings given to the five criteria increased, so did evaluations for psychological restoration and positive affect. Although causation was not established, the role of most environmental information criteria was important for predicting window view preferences, with nature generally outweighed the others. We recommend the use of the environmental information criteria in practice, but suggest some alterations to these standards to emphasize the importance of nature within window view design. Instead of only supporting high-quality views, nature should be promoted across all thresholds dictating view quality.
... Nature experience is beneficial for mental and physical wellbeing (Berman et al., 2012;Bratman, Hamilton, & Daily, 2012;Diette, Lechtzin, Hapoink, Devrotes, & Rubin, 2003;Park & Mattson, 2009;Ulrich, 1984;Ulrich et al., 1991;Velarde, Fry, & Tveit, 2007). 'Nature' in this paper refers to elements of living systems such as plants, sunlight, waterbodies, and natural landscapes (Bratman et al., 2012). ...
Nature experiences promote relaxation and wellbeing. To bring these benefits to people with limited access to nature, digital technologies can be used to provide nature experiences. However, we do not yet completely understand which exact qualities of nature and what mechanisms are involved in eliciting relaxation. To close this gap, we conducted a diary exercise (n=25) to explore interactions and qualities that stimulate relaxation in nature. Results revealed a typology comprising three pathways to promote relaxation through nature experiences: relaxation by sensing, thinking, and doing. In addition, 8 sensorial and 6 contextual qualities were identified, and a visual summary was made that can support designers in applying nature-based stimuli to the design of digital nature with relaxing effects.
... For example, multiple studies have found that exposure to trees and plants can reduce short-term markers of stress such as heart rate, blood pressure and salivary cortisol 14,15 . Much of this impact is probably mediated aesthetically, because multiple studies have demonstrated that simply viewing images of a natural scene has a similar stress-reducing effect as being exposed to the scene itself 16 . Roger Ulrich, one of the pioneers of green-health research, noted that vision is by far our most Letters NATuRE PlANTs important sense in terms of yielding information about outdoor environments 17 . ...
The health benefits of exposure to trees and plants is a rapidly expanding field of study. Research has shown that exposure is associated with improvements in a wide range of health outcomes including cardiovascular disease, birth outcomes, respiratory disease, cancer, mental health and all-cause mortality 1. One of the challenges that these studies face is characterizing participants' exposure to trees and plants. A common approach is to use the normalized difference vegetation index, a greenness index typically derived from satellite imagery. Reliance on the normalized difference vegetation index is understandable; for decades, the imagery required to calculate the normalized difference vegetation index has been available for the entire Earth's surface and is updated at regular intervals. However, the normalized difference vegetation index may do a poor job of fully characterizing the human experience of being exposed to trees and plants, because scenes with the same normalized difference vegetation index value can appear different to the human eye. We demonstrate this phenomenon by identifying sites in Portland, Oregon that have the same normalized difference vegetation index value as a large, culturally significant elm tree. These sites are strikingly different aesthetically, suggesting that use of the normalized difference vegetation index may lead to exposure misclassification. Where possible, the normalized difference vegetation index should be supplemented with other exposure metrics.
... Even looking at the picture of a natural space has positive effects on emotional and mental conditions compared to an urban environment (Hartmann &Apaolaza, 2010).It was shown in a s tudy that positive emotions (focus, passion, and power) in citizens, who are exposed to the natural environment for more than 5 hours a month, are much more compared with people who were less or never exposed to it. New theories, such as Ulrich's s tress recovery theory, have predicted that natural landscapes reduce s tress, while environments dense with buildings and with little open and green spaces, delay the s tress treatment (Velarde et al., 2007). In addition to the items lis ted, the positive effects of being in nature may be due to the effects of colors on humans. ...
ABS TRACT: Our modern society is filled with s tressful s timuli that impact our daily lives, and lead to problems that eventually threaten our mental and psychological wellbeing. Expanding urban life and urbanizing people's interactions have dras tically increased and resulted in more s tressful circums tances. Unfortunately, the role of nature and nature-based design in our urban societies as an alternative in reducing the impact of unhealthy and s tressful situations produced by our modern and urbanized life s tyle has been neglected. Considering the fact that human beings are social creatures and their surroundings affect them both mentally and psychologically; hence, the s tudy of psychological impacts of nature and nature-based design is both essential and necessary in our fas t evolving urban societies. This research inves tigates nature-based design and the short-term observational impacts and benefits of urban societies' interaction with nature on different aspects of human psychology including perceived res toratives', mental health and vitality and creativity. The participants in the two sample groups observed two different urban areas. One was a building complex in Isfahan city center and the other was an urban park in Isfahan. In the end, the participants filled out a comprehensive psychological ques tionnaire assessing the effects environment on different dimensions of human psyche. Our results demons trate that even short-term interaction with nature and nature-based designs had positive effects one's psychological wellbeing, and therefore, our finding show that urban designs and architecture intertwined with nature were crucial in protecting and improving human mental health and wellbeing.
... Nature experience is beneficial for mental and physical wellbeing (Berman et al., 2012;Bratman, Hamilton, & Daily, 2012;Diette, Lechtzin, Hapoink, Devrotes, & Rubin, 2003;Park & Mattson, 2009;Ulrich, 1984;Ulrich et al., 1991;Velarde, Fry, & Tveit, 2007). 'Nature' in this paper refers to elements of living systems such as plants, sunlight, waterbodies, and natural landscapes (Bratman et al., 2012). ...
Nature experiences promote relaxation and wellbeing. To bring these benefits to people with limited access to nature, digital technologies can be used to provide nature experiences. However, we do not yet completely understand which exact qualities of nature and what mechanisms are involved in eliciting relaxation. To close this gap, we conducted a diary exercise (n=25) to explore interactions and qualities that stimulate relaxation in nature. Results revealed a typology comprising three pathways to promote relaxation through nature experiences: relaxation by sensing, thinking, and doing. In addition, 8 sensorial and 6 contextual qualities were identified, and a visual summary was made that can support designers in applying nature-based stimuli to the design of digital nature with relaxing effects.
... A number of studies have demonstrated positive effects of daily access to nature on mental health (e.g. Velarde et al., 2007;Wang et al., 2018Zhao et al., 2018). Two theories may explain these effects: Attention Restoration Theory (ART; Kaplan and Kaplan, 1989) and ...
Despite the important roles that animals play in ecosystems, their functions in urban green spaces are often overlooked. To fill this gap, this study explored the effects of four animal species on the mental restorative quality of urban green spaces by comparing observers’ response to pictures with and without animals. The results indicated that swans, deer, and pigeons which were unthreatening to humans could significantly improve mental restoration of observers, and comparatively, swans had the strongest effect. Conversely, unleashed dogs were a potential threat to humans, and decreased the mental restorative quality of urban green spaces. The mechanism of animals’ effects on mental restoration and the differential effects of four animal species were discussed. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study addressing the mental health impacts of animals in landscapes, and the results suggest that “animal-inclusive landscape design” has a positive impact on urban green spaces.
... It was a great opportunity to bring some cultural concepts to design the project . The key question of the research is how to revitalize the streets of the site study through the consolidation of green spaces in favor of the cultural background (Velarde and Tveit, 2007) while considering environmental and sustainability criteria? To discover the solution, it was important to know the lifestyle of the inhabitants through knowing the characteristics of places in the areas (Relph, 1976;Gustafson, 2001) the cultural beliefs and reason for planting trees, and the specification of the trees to adapt to the arid climate. ...
... More unique and diverse creative ideas become possible when opinions are flexible and multiple. Studies that explored the relationship between plant diversity, flower color diversity and richness, and perceived biodiversity showed that greater flower colors and diversity could attract visible species richness, lead to a more positive aesthetic experience, provide restoration benefits (41), and affect human health (42).Therefore, improving the perceived naturalness of urban landscapes by, for example, planting flowers might confer not only psychological benefits (43) but also enhance the natural elements and elicit creative thinking. Moreover, creating a "being away" and "scope" of restorative characteristics in urban settings could inspire one's creativity. ...
This study investigated the effects of different natural environments on attention restoration and creativity. To compare the restorative benefits based on the degrees of perceived naturalness in urban areas, this study categorized environments into three types of perceived naturalness and tested the effect on one's creativity. The urban campus was selected as the study site, representing high-, medium-, and low-perceived naturalness photosets downloaded from Google Street Map images as experimental stimuli. The study invited 100 subjects to take the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults (ATTA), which measures creative thinking by viewing the onscreen photosets of the experimental stimuli. In addition, this study asked participants to complete the Perceived Restoration Scale (PRS) questionnaires. The results showed that high- and medium-perceived naturalness in the urban-campus site was superior to low-perceived naturalness in creative performance. In addition, there were significant differences in elaboration and flexibility for different degrees of perceived naturalness. Various degrees of perceived naturalness showed a substantial correlation between PRS scores and ATTA scores. The attention restoration benefits of high- and medium-naturalness environments improve creativity. Our study indicates that viewing natural environments stimulates curiosity and fosters flexibility and imagination, highly natural environments distract our minds from work, and the benefits of attention restoration can improve the uniqueness and diversity of creative ideas. This study provides a reference for creative environmental design and supports further understanding of nature's health and creativity benefits in urban areas.
... This effect can be based, among other things, on the tranquillity landscapes offer (Kaplan 2001, Velarde et al. 2007). In Germany, this leads to demands for instruments that support the protection of places of tranquillity and go beyond the legally regulated noise control (e.g. ...
Landscapes promote health and have a therapeutic effect on people. These effects can stem from multiple factors, including the tranquillity that a landscape exudes. In this respect, it is reasonable to nuture such effects and to preserve landscapes that provide an atmosphere of tranquillity. For this purpose, however, it is necessary to identify and locate such places. Collecting on-the-ground data across large areas is costly and time-consuming. We therefore use data from the photo-sharing platform Flickr to examine where people experience tranquillity in two rural areas in Germany. The study shows that social media data can provide a complement to spatial data from official bodies, since they indicate accessible places where tranquillity is consumed. However, they neither disclose the most tranquil places in an area, nor do they lead to complete spatial coverage. We discuss the method against the background of renewable energies' expansion in the Pfälzerwald region. The discussion shows that the method needs to be improved significantly before it can provide reliable results that can be drawn for use in spatial planning. Nevertheless, we believe that the idea of utilising data from social media to make hidden recreational uses visible is worth bringing into practice at an early stage. In this way, we want to raise awareness of the benefits that geospatial information can provide in shaping pathways to regional sustainability.
... Similarly, many health benefits from dance activities have been reported [64][65][66]. As for the activity of viewing, Velarde, et al. [67] reported three types of health benefits of viewing greenery: short-term recovery from stress or mental fatigue; faster physical recovery from illness; and long-term overall improvement in people's health and well-being. Ball activities can be enjoyed by a wide range of ages, dancing is unrestricted and easily accessible, and viewing satisfies the desire to be close to nature. ...
The health–beneficial value of urban green spaces (UGS) is increasingly accepted by scholars. However, compared to the large number of studies focused on UGS–health associations, whether UGS in high-density cities could reduce public health expenditures remains less investigated. In particular, few studies have examined the association of UGS quality with health expenditures. Therefore, we conducted a cross-sectional study in downtown Shanghai to examine such associations. A population-based household survey (n = 1000) was conducted to collect relevant information about different aspects of health expenditure and the characteristics of UGS. Specifically, a new method was proposed to measure UGS quality based on the supply–demand of 20 types of UGS activities. We also measured the perceived quality of different types of UGS and quantified the amount of UGS using GIS based on remote sensing data. Regression models were applied for statistical analysis. The results showed that both UGS quality based on user needs and perceived UGS quality have a significant negative association with total health expenditures. This study provides insights for UGS quality measurement, contributes to the understanding of the health-related economic benefits of UGS, and also highlights the importance of UGS optimization in high-density urban areas.
... These attributes can be captivating (details of well-kept facades), elicit memories and stories (historic buildings) and, ultimately, facilitate the enjoyment of the city. Moreover, the older persons who took part in the research described the well-known restorative effects of walking through environments that natural elements have [30][31][32], suggesting that going on foot through places with trees, flowers, grass, etc., helps them to "clear the mind:" ...
Walking reports numerous benefits for older persons, yet its practice can be hindered by the built environment. This article seeks to understand how and why certain elements of the built environment facilitate or impede the everyday trips older persons complete on foot. It reports the findings of a set of walking interviews conducted in four central neighbourhoods of Santiago de Chile, where forty older persons were invited to walk and talk about the trips they complete on foot and the aspects that facilitate or hinder them. The findings reveal that older persons are aware of the benefits of walking and travel regularly on foot despite the barriers they find in their neighbourhoods. The presence/absence of greenery, the conditions of the facades and the level of cleanliness of the streets affect older persons’ walking experience and can increase/diminish their willingness to walk. Damaged and poorly designed pedestrian infrastructure can cause fear, provoke accidents and become serious hazards. Older persons develop strategies to overcome these barriers, yet the data suggest that they see Santiago as a “disabling city” because it has obstacles that could be unsurmountable in a near future if an illness or an accident diminishes their abilities.
... As humans are better accustomed to perceiving visual stimuli than to other senses, most of the aesthetic and spiritual benefits (e.g., human physical and psychological health, promoting recreational activities, and enhancing tourism potential) are maintained by the visual landscape (Svobodova et al. 2012). The quality of visual landscape is mainly influenced by the physical landscape and the response or perception of humans interacting with the landscape (Ewald 2001;Velarde et al. 2007;Kurdoglu & Kurdoglu 2010). Physical landscape influencing factors include landscape openness (de la Fuente De Val et al. 2006), color contrast (Yao et al. 2012), naturalness (Ode et al. 2009), species richness (Adinolfi et al. 2014), and individual physical attributes of plants (height, shape, color, etc.) (Misgav 2000;Arriaza et al. 2004). ...
Landscape change caused by ecological restoration projects in the karst rocky desertification area of southwestern China has presented ecological benefits, yet the visual aesthetic perception of the restored landscape has received less attention. Meanwhile, given the unpredictable worldwide health emergency caused by the COVID‐19 pandemic, it inspired us to be concerned about will citizens’ aesthetic perceptions and attitudes to the change of restored landscape from pre‐ to during the outbreak of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Organizing an online survey, we explored citizens’ visual aesthetic perceptions and attitudes to natural restored landscape (NRL) and managed restored landscape (MRL) on 757 citizens in Shilin Geopark (in Kunming, China), as well as how citizens’ sociocultural backgrounds influence visual aesthetic preference. The results indicated that before the COVID‐19 pandemic, the professionals preferred NRL, while the nonprofessionals presented a higher preference for MRL. However, during the COVID‐19 pandemic, both two groups showed a higher preference for NRL, which implied that the experience of lockdown during the COVID‐19 pandemic might awaken most citizens’ preference for the natural restored landscape. Among different kinds of restored plant communities, the landscape dominated by shrubs (SL) was the most popular. Furthermore, gender, age, career type, education, region, and citizens’ visit frequency were significantly correlated with visual aesthetic perceptions before the COVID‐19 pandemic. During the COVID‐19 pandemic, professional background, gender and age did not show significant impacts on visual aesthetic perceptions anymore. These results highlight the necessity of understanding visual aesthetic perceptions in different socio‐demographic groups to encourage natural succession and create a nature‐based restored landscape in the karst area. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
... Previous studies on the evaluation of perceived naturalness mainly studied the relationship between visual recognition and preference in urban green spaces using photographs (Carrus, Lafortezza et al., 2013;Hofmann, Westermann et al., 2012;Milcu, Sherren et al., 2014). However, environmental perception is clearly accepted through multiple senses and is not limited to only vision (Velarde, Fry et al., 2007). The survey through photographs provides direct visual stimulus to individuals, limiting their judgment by other senses, with a visual-dependent research method. ...
Though the activities in urban facilities have declined during the COVID-19, the demand for visiting open spaces and parks has increased. Visitors to city parks also increased in Seoul. People have realized that nature is an important space for safety, health, and leisure in their everyday life. This study implied that people intended to visit city parks as a natural space in the urban area. So, an assessment criterion of the quality of environments of city parks, naturalness is selected as one of the indicators. This study chose six parks as a study subject in Seoul and found differences for users in the perception of naturalness in city parks. Q methodology is a useful tool to identify differences between individual's perceptions of nature. Through the Q analysis, six groups have differences in the perception and the valuation of naturalness. The study found that differences have resulted from their past experiences, personal preferences, and psychological status. The first group can be named a dynamic type who enjoys various landscapes, and the second is the group of people who love to meditate in serene woodlands. The third group wants to observe the animals and consider the ecosystem as important, and the fourth group is those who love to feel the changing seasons with sensitivity. The fifth group recognizes nature through the contrast between the building and the natural environment in the city. The last group is those who pursue conservation for old trees or the existing nature environment itself. As a general, appraisal of perceived naturalness is subjective and individual. The perception of naturalness influences landscape preferences and attitudes to city parks. Therefore, the naturalness perceived by users should be a crucial consideration to maximize park services so that users can appreciate various tastes.
... This has been described as an added effect of nature [3]. There is a growing body of evidence supporting the hypothesis that nature is beneficial for human health [3][4][5][6][7]. These positive health effects include for instance; reduced blood pressure [8], shorter time hospitalized after surgery [9] and improved global health [8,[10][11][12]. ...
Background
A growing body of evidence suggests that exposure to nature is beneficial for human health. However, the observed health effect of nature may be mediated by physical activity and that humans are physically active at a higher intensity outdoors compared to when they are physical active indoors.
Objective
This study examines the variation of heart rate and power output for a fixed rating of perceived exertion in a group of healthy older adults in three different environments representing three levels of exposure to nature.
Methods
To this randomized, 3-by-3 crossover design study, healthy older adults (≥65 years) were recruited from local gyms. All participants participated in three experimental conditions; indoors, simulated outdoors and outdoor environments, in a randomized order. The participants exercised for 20 minutes at an intensity equivalent to a rating of 11–13 on the Borg scale for perceived exertion (RPE). Measurements of heart rate, power output (Watt) and ratings of perceived exertion were taken at minutes 1 to 6 and at minute 20. To examine the effect of the environment on heart rate and power, linear mixed models were used.
Results
In all, 48 participants (56% females) were included in the analysis. No significant main effects on the outcomes were observed for power output (p = 0.073, η2 = 0.04) or heart rate (p = 0.067, η2 = 0.04)
Conclusion
No significant effect on the outcomes was observed. However, borderline significant outcomes for power output or heart rate outdoors in nature, along with previous studies in the field, indicates that such an effect cannot be completely ruled out, but any effect is likely to be small. Future research examining health benefits of the independent exposure to nature are encouraged to adjust for the dose of physical activity.
... There is growing evidence that living in today's busy and fast-paced society, especially in a crowded, over-informed, stressful, and high-rise city, is fraught with tension, anxiety, and excessive stress [1]. According to the World Health Organization (WHO; 2021), the incidence of physical and mental diseases is increasing, and negative emotions such as anger, anxiety and depression can lead to a variety of diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and diseases of the endocrine-immune system. ...
In the face of the growing demand for stress reduction among urban residents, research on the restorative effect of cultural environments and cultural landscape is currently limited. This paper aims to explore the perceived restoration of rural cultural memory space in a Chinese cultural context and to investigate the role of situational involvement and place attachment in this respect. The results show that rural cultural memory space can directly produce restorative effects, but each perceptual dimension has internal variability. According to appraisal theory and self-regulation theory, revealing the complex pathways of tourists’ perceptions of rural cultural memory space can be generated through a process of situational involvement and placing attachment to produce tourists’ restorative perceptions. The research results highlight the predictors of restorative environment in the context of the Chinese vernacular culture and provide references for rural tourism landscape design.
... Foreign researchers believe that the construction of children's playgrounds should be closely related to children's education, psychology, behavior, thinking, and cognition [22]. e U.S. "Children's Play and Play Environment" discusses the importance of children's activities and their significance to children's physical, mental, and language development in various aspects; "Humane Places: Guidelines for the Design of Urban Open Spaces" discusses the issue of children's interaction and proposes the need to design children's interaction spaces in environmental design; "Play and Early Childhood Development" emphasizes the characteristics of outdoor playground design, clarifies that a good play environment can promote children's healthy physical and mental development, and proposes that if individual play facilities are connected, many new ways of playing can be obtained, which can improve children's social interaction ability. ...
The investigation of the unidentified world and the restriction field has intensified as the application concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to expand, due to which lifestyle of people and manufacturing modes have also changed dramatically. Based on these revolving trends, this work examines AI and studies children’s outdoor spaces from the perspective of their behavioral psychology. Furthermore, based on the analysis of text information, this study first defines the relevant concepts, then studies the characteristics and composition of children’s psychology and behavior, their habits, and activity space, respectively. In addition, this study interprets the excellent case design of children’s outdoor activity space at home and abroad from the perspective of behavioral psychology to provide a theoretical basis and design a reference for the design of children’s outdoor activity space. Besides, a survey of children’s residential areas analyzes the current situation and problems of children’s outdoor activity spaces and explores their renovation. Finally, using the author’s participation in the design of children’s outdoor activity spaces in residential neighborhoods as an example, it relates theory to practice. It studies and discusses the planning and design of children’s outdoor activity spaces by constructing an outdoor activity space under children’s behavior and psychology.
... Ulrich et al. [25,26] confirmed that the landscape outside the window was also restorative, when people viewed from inside to outside. People in restorative scenes paid more attention than those in non-restorative environments when watching outdoor scenes [27,28]. This was because people had a certain preference for the form of natural landscape [29], and people paid more attention to the landscape with higher fractal dimension [30]. ...
Windows are the communication medium between indoor and outdoor, but their influence and the corresponding landscape outside the window are often ignored due to the outdoor frequent activities of people. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been a better choice to show the window performance, especially for the anxiety level alleviation of people isolated at home. A national survey was conducted on the anxiety of self-separation people and the window influence. The results showed that the average anxiety level was 1.54, between a little anxious and anxious, due to the COVID-19. The best satisfaction with the landscape outside the window was waterscape (2.98), followed by green plants (2.33) and buildings (0.83). During the COVID-19, the average number of overlook times increased by 1.49 times/day, which is higher 0.42 ties/day than the normal condition. The landscape types had the certain influence on the overlook frequency, the window opening times and even the anxiety level. The average anxiety levels are 1.36 and 1.68 with natural landscapes and human landscapes, respectively. Optimizing the landscapes outside the window plays an important role in alleviating the anxiety of residents and improving their mental health.
... We concentrate only on workplace interventions for young city workers. With the importance of nature in the workplace (48), there is a wealth of studies demonstrating a clear correlation between workers' well-being and greenspace (108-110) as well as landscapes (111). For instance, Bringslimark et al. (112) discovered that employees in windowless offices were more likely to bring plants to work or decorate their office space with a photograph of nature than those with a window view, which can be viewed as a compensatory strategy for the lack of access to the outdoors provided by windows (e.g., restoration for those in need of it). ...
Within environmental psychology, the restorative environment is receiving increasing attention due to its favorable impact on people's mental recovery, stress reduction, and psychophysiological well-being. Flow theory, as one of the foundations of positive psychology, is a popular theoretical framework for understanding human flourishing and well-being. The restorative environment is suggested to facilitate flow experience and city identity from the perspective of positive environmental psychology. Nonetheless, systematic research investigating them all together can hardly be traced. Thus, through a preliminary review of 169 relevant studies retrieved from the data source, this work proposes a novel theoretical model in which people's interactions within the restorative environment facilitate their experience of flow and perceived city identity. Additionally, this research provides conceptual guidance for city workers to engage in nature-based intervention and leisure therapy for improved well-being. Overall, this review endeavors to contribute to developing urban workers' restoration, happiness, and well-being from both practical and theoretical perspectives.
... In their review of the literature on the health effects of viewing different types of landscapes, Velarde et al. (2007) identified three main kinds of health effects: short-term recovery from stress or mental fatigue, faster physical recovery from illness, and long-term overall improvement on health and well-being. In urban areas, sceneries with trees and other green spaces are more beneficial than those without. ...
The important contributions of urban trees and green spaces to for example, climate moderation and public health are widely recognized. This paper discusses guidelines and norms that promote the benefits of viewing green, living amongst green, and having easy access to green spaces for recreational use. Having trees and other vegetation in sight from one’s home, place of work, or school has important mental health and performance benefits. Local tree canopy cover is positively associated with cooling and other aspects of climate moderation. The availability of public green spaces in proximity to one’s home stimulates regular use of these areas and results in positive impacts on mental, physical, and social health. After analyzing existing guidelines and rules for urban green space planning and provision, a new, comprehensive guideline is presented, known as the ‘3–30–300 rule’ for urban forestry. This guideline aims to provide equitable access to trees and green spaces and their benefits by setting the thresholds of having at least 3 well-established trees in view from every home, school, and place of work; no less than a 30% tree canopy in every neighbourhood; and no more than 300 m to the nearest public green space from every residence. Current implementation of this new evidence-based guideline is discussed, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of using it.
... In modern, fast-growing cities, where urban density is becoming a desirable development principle, residents lack contact with the natural environment [1]. However, studies in recent decades have shown that looking out of a window at nature has a similar effect on people as being in nature [1,2]. Research on the links between urban green spaces and the social dimensions of health has shown three main kinds of health effects: shortterm recovery from stress or mental fatigue, faster physical recovery from illness, and long-term overall improvement in people's health and well-being [1,3]. ...
A window view affects a person’s well-being and comfort. The effect of visual contact with nature on people depends on the quality of the outside scenery, which in turn depends on parameters such as the number of visible layers, the distance to visual elements and environmental information (content) in the window view. Many studies have concluded that views of nature are preferable, while in urban environments a high-quality window view should include greenery. In our study, a survey was conducted among two groups of students at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Ljubljana, to find out how the respondents perceived urban imageability in a window view. Using the example of five neighborhoods in Ljubljana (Slovenia), which have different urban planning and design concepts and greeneries, we investigated whether respondents perceived the presence of greenery as an important element of visual comfort. They ranked the quality of window views using eight indicators. The analysis of the ranking of the answers showed that the responses were similar for the two survey approaches (with single-selection and with multiple-selection techniques), except for the perception of surface texture. This indicates a common understanding of the role of greenery and an ambiguity in the perception of what is meant by the term 'texture'.
... The concept of therapeutic landscape is first introduced by medical geographers to define places with natural or historical features to maintain health and well-being (Velarde et al. 2007). The garden's design physical aspects and programming activities that take place there are informed by research. ...
In 2002, several ex-service personnel brought a court case against the Ministry of Defense for the inability to identify PTSD issues at an early stage and to provide support and effective treatment (Langston et al. 2007). Also in recent times, reports have suggested that US marine and army infantry units returning from duty in Iraq and Afghanistan have a higher level of expected proportions of mental disorders and that about 10% of personnel returning home are with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (Smith et al., 2008). This discovery made it pertinent
to look for natural ways to assist veterans while embarking on a recovery journey.
This study focuses on establishing and integrating the use of therapeutic gardens during the
veteran's recovery. The project centers on establishing a healing garden as a natural platform of
healing for veterans during the treatment of PTSD. In this context, a veteran is a military personnel
who has been affected by his or her experiences, which led to post-traumatic stress disorder while
in active service for their fatherland, hoping that this would also serve as a means for occupational
therapy for diagnosed patients.
To put the research into perspective, some existing healing gardens are researched to provide more
understanding of the benefits of the healing garden concept in aiding the treatment of PTSD by
putting veterans in context. This is because of the saying that healing gardens are designed to meet
specific medical needs. For example, while a healing garden can be designed to enable seniors to
access outdoor activities and the natural environment outside, it can also be designed for children
hospitals to help children blow off some steam, calm them down, engage them in garden activities,
and converse with nature.
... In the current pandemic, SD and preventive measures (Chen, Yang, Yang, Wang, & Bärnighausen, 2020;Hassanzadeh-Rad & Halabchi, 2020) have forced engineers to review and redesign these spaces within skyscrapers. Previous studies showed the importance of integrating green spaces and landscapes because visual access to nature helped in promoting psychological, physical, and mental health, including overcoming work pressures (Dolling, Nilsson, & Lundell, 2017;Rojas-Rueda, Nieuwenhuijsen, Gascon, Perez-Leon, & Mudu, 2019;Velarde, Fry, & Tveit, 2007). Recent studies have revealed that employing natural light can improve general mood and concentration and can reduce feelings of depression (Ayuso Sanchez, Ikaga, & Vega Sanchez, 2018). ...
Can skyscrapers survive after COVID-19? Can the idea of integrating vertical farming (VF) into vertical architecture support the environmental, economic, and social issues in the post-pandemic era? Answering these questions is the main objective of this study. Therefore, it explores a) the impact of the pandemic on the built environment, especially skyscrapers; b) the challenges facing the survival of skyscrapers; c) the design parameters and main components of VF; and d) the expected feasibility of integrating VF into vertical architecture to reduce the effects of the pandemic. The research concludes that the skyscraper-integrated vertical farming (SIVF) paradigm can create a closed ecosystem that preserves the environment by a) supporting food security, b) improving indoor environmental quality, c) enhancing psychological and physical health, d) saving energy, e) reducing greenhouse gas emissions and releasing oxygen, and f) supporting the local economy. Consequently, the SIVF paradigm can inaugurate an innovative approach that provides insights into new research trends and discoveries. However, further constraints in the adoption of SIVF should be addressed, and collaborations between researchers and multidisciplinary experts must be created to achieve suitable solutions.
KEYWORDS
COVID-19; skyscrapers; vertical architecture; vertical farming; food security; skyscraper-integrated vertical farming
... The visual environment is considered an important resource, similar to water, soil and mineral resources [7], and the quality of visual environments affects people's aesthetic taste and physical and mental health [8]. With the development of landscape aesthetics dominated by preference and perception, the evaluation of landscape visual aesthetics has attracted increasing attention and emerged as an important branch of landscape aesthetics. ...
On-water sightseeing plays a key role in the tourism of traditional Chinese landscapes. The on-water landscape affects tourism potential and the quality of urban landscapes. Current research on river landscape is mainly based on remote sensing images or on-land approaches, while studies of on-water perspective landscapes at different river scales is lacking. In this paper, with Guilin city rivers taken as an example, we adopt image semantic segmentation technology to evaluate the visual landscape characteristics under different river scales, and subsequently employ automatic linear modeling to screen important factors affecting aesthetic quality. The results reveal the obvious differences between the on-water landscape characteristics of different scale rivers. The on-water landscape quality of large- and small-scale rivers is mainly affected by seven and four factors, respectively. The Karst landform of Guilin is observed to significantly improve the on-water landscape quality of large-scale rivers. By considering the impact mechanism of landscape composition on the aesthetic quality and the different scale rivers, we propose several aesthetic quality improvement strategies based on low-cost methods, including the planting of vegetation and the micro renewal of artificial constructions. This study contributes to the intelligent evaluation of urban on-water landscape and provides reference for on-water route selection and urban planning.
An ambient built environment is crucial for a universally designed physical space that significantly encourages the user's performance. Universal Accessibility is of prime importance in Architectural studies. A well-designed workspace should be friendly in terms of age and ability by taking the user's anthropometric capabilities and limitations into consideration. However, Effective evaluation of workplaces is an emerging trend that influences people's physical and behavioral performances since the working class spends a handsome amount of time at work. This research aims to heuristically evaluate the design of office spaces primarily concerning factors of age and ability-sensitive ergonomics. Professionals with specializations in Architecture, Planning, Engineering, Design were deemed as evaluators. These evaluators from different age and ability groups were targeted during an 8-h work shift. The methodology is formulated through 5 stages namely Literature study, Quessionaire formulation, Analysis, Results, and Discussion. A questionnaire survey was conducted for assessment of the perceived levels of importance and user's satisfaction with their workplace environments based on the achieved mean ratings and importance index values. The evaluation criteria were designed by taking spatial design parameters, ambient interior, and passive design into consideration. Further, the users had to choose from predefined scenarios with varied distribution levels of parameters chosen. A user ergonomics modeling has been carried out on the scenarios for developing a convenient working environment, thus increasing all users’ overall productivity. The results show that the ergonomics based on these parameters can efficiently evaluate and draw conclusions for designing an inclusive work environment.KeywordsUser-sensitivityInclusive workplaceAccessibilityInstitutional productivity
Green space helps people improve their physical and psychological health, while the seasonal influence of green space changes the characteristics of forest landscape. This study adopts the attention restoration theory (ART) to assess the psychological benefits for different forest landscape colors in Aowanda National Forest Park, the most known one in Taiwan. The results showed that the attention recovery, landscape preference, and willingness to stay vary with different forest landscape colors. Among them, attention recovery was positively associated with landscape preference, which was further associated with the desired length of stay. Tourists preferred and were willing to stay longer for forest landscapes with red and yellow & red combination (warm tones), showing that relatively low color temperature and high saturation create a warm feeling to tourists. This study recommends that local climate change and environment should be considered in the future environmental planning and landscape design for national forest parks; tree species with leaf colors that change seasonally (e.g., taxodium distichum and liquidambar formosana) should be selected; and the overall color consistency of the landscape should be concerned to improve the effect of restoring the environment. For increasing the attention restoration experience, planning can be implemented according to the features of various national forest parks.
Multifunctional land use (MLU) has been treated by many countries and regions as an effective path for balancing conflicts between limited land resources and the social, economic, and ecological sustainable development demands resulting from urbanization. Peri-urban areas are significantly influenced by urban and rural development. Urban residents' perceptions to peri-urban areas are critical for influencers of relative policies. This study aims to account for urban residents' perceptions of MLU in peri-urban areas to bring attention to land-use issues from a demand perspective. We developed a conceptual framework based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs to illustrate the relationship between urban residents' needs and MLU in peri-urban areas. We selected Shanghai, Wuhan, and Chengdu as representative metropolises in East, Central, and West China, respectively, and surveyed urban residents in these three metropolises to understand their needs and views with regard to multifunctional peri-urban land use. The results show that urban residents perceived 14 land-use functions of peri-urban areas as significant and recognized esteem needs and self-fulfillment as most important, followed by safety needs, physiological needs, and social needs. The most significant needs of China's urban residents with regards to MLU in peri-urban areas, residence and retirement, should be addressed in policymaking and planning. In addition, media and communication also play important roles in terms of mediating and establishing communication between residents, farmers, and policymakers.
The characteristics and values of traditional cultural landscapes are comprehensively outlined by addressing biodiversity, agrobiodiversity, and agrodiversity as well as ecosystem and landscape services. Additionally, cultural landscapes are considered as potentially healthy environments and approaches, and related concepts such as therapeutic landscapes are introduced. Traditional ecological and indigenous knowledge, respectively, is an intrinsic asset of those landscapes under consideration, contributing to biodiversity and resource management, to the use and processing of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products, to climate change mitigation and adaptation, to environmental education, to communication, and to the governance of local communities.KeywordsBiodiversityAgrobiodiversityAgrodiversityClimate change mitigationHealthy environmentsTherapeutic landscapesTraditional ecological knowledge
Previous studies have mainly focused on the independent role of landscape characteristics or preference on psychological restoration respectively. However, relatively few studies have explored the complex relationships between restorative effects, landscape characteristics, preference and place bonding factors, particularly in urban parks. The development of new data environment and technique methods enables such a synthesis of innovative approach to reveal the influences of urban park characteristics and various psychological factors on collegers’ perceived restoration. A typical urban park in Wuhan, China, was selected for pilot study, in which 1560 crowdsourced images were collected using the Public Participation Geographic Information System (PPGIS) tool. With the help of Deep Learning techniques, landscape characteristics were combined with perceptual factors for the Partial Least Squares (PLS) based statistical analysis. It was found that some landscape properties, such as vegetation and water, presented indirect impacts in activating restoration via psychological mediators. The mediating effect of sense of place and the moderating effects of landscape characteristics on the preference-restoration nexus were revealed. These findings shed new light on the complex process in environmental restoration in which psychological and physical factors are intertwined. At the end, theoretical and managerial implications were proposed for the improvement of landscape planning in restoration studies.
The capacity of urban parks to contribute to soundscape restorativeness, understood here as contributions to people’s recovery from attentional fatigue and reflection on life issues, is receiving increased interest in research and policy. However, scientific understanding of the influential mechanism of perceived soundscape restorativeness is still not clear. This paper aims to explore the effects of audio-visual interaction on perceived soundscape restorativeness (PSR) of urban parks, considering visitors of different social and demographic characteristics. The research design comprises a survey of 419 visitors to five urban parks in Fuzhou, China, general structure equation modeling, and multi-group model analysis. The results show a substantial dependence of visitors’ PSR values on respective perceptions of soundscape pleasantness and eventfulness, especially soundscape pleasantness. Visual landscape characteristics showed mediating effects on the influence of soundscape pleasantness and eventfulness on the perceived soundscape restorativeness (19.3% and 28.3% of the total effect, respectively). Age was the most influential social and demographic characteristic affecting the PSR, followed by gender, while occupation and educational background showed only limited effects. Future development of urban parks should strongly integrate soundscape design considerations to enhance positive PSR effects for visitors.
The impact of stress on visual landscape perception was assessed in a photo-based survey. The survey was first performed when the student participants were expected to be stressed just prior to an important examination. The same students were asked to respond to the same questionnaire a month after the examination when they were expected to have a lower level of stress. Then respondents answered some daily activities, personal study habits, and feelings before an exam. They also provided ratings of how much a selection of environmental factors generally influence their ability to study and their academic success. In the main perceptual survey reactions to a selection of 22 landscape scenes photos were reported by ratings (1–5) of the extent to which each of six emotions was associated with each scene. Differences in emotions ratings for the represented landscapes during high-stress and low-stress periods were analyzed by multiple comparison and Pearson correlational methods using the SPSS 17.00 package. Stress tests confirmed higher stress in the first versus second survey and perceptual ratings showed significant statistical differences in emotion ratings between landscape scenes, as well as both main effects and interactions between high stress and low stress conditions. Scene ratings for each emotion were strongly positively correlated between high stress and lower stress conditions. At the same time, respondents generally gave slightly higher ratings for positive emotions -excited, relaxing, happiness-when in the high stress condition and moderately higher ratings for negative emotions -stressed, irritating, scary-, compared to their ratings when tested later under lower stress conditions. This study indicated that stress conditions affect perception, and stressed conditions gave higher emotionality overall than the unstressed condition. In general, in both stressed and unstressed conditions, the students gave the highest scores (>3.4) to convenience and the lowest score (<2) to scary. The main limitations of this study are the large number of environmental factors that influence people's perception. The strongest determiner of emotion ratings was the landscape scenes themselves. Inspection of outliers in the scatter plots and multiple comparisons articulating higher order interactions with stress conditions revealed clear differences in the patterns of emotions ratings, especially for scenes representing water surfaces, open green spaces, and seasonal plant scenes.
Amaç: Literatürde okul bahçelerinin sert zemin miktarları, peyzaj donatıları, kullanım alanları, yeşil alan miktarları ve bitkilendirme tasarımlarına yönelik çok sayıda çalışmaya rastlanırken iklimle dengeli tasarım düzeyinde çok fazla sayıda çalışma bulunmamaktadır. Bu nedenle okul bahçelerinin mikroklimatik açıdan değerlendirilmesine yönelik çalışmalar da araştırma konuları arasında önemli bir yer tutmalıdır. Bu çalışmada okul dış mekan tasarımları mikroklimatik açıdan ele alınmıştır. Materyal ve Yöntem: Çalışma alanı olarak Nevşehir kent merkezinde yer alan ilkokulların dış mekanları seçilmiştir. Çalışma kapsamında ENVI-met yazılımıyla Nevşehir kent merkezinde belirlenen farklı niteliklerdeki okulların dış mekan tasarımının iklimsel simülasyonları yapılarak iklim haritaları üretilmiştir. Elde edilen veriler ışığında hem okul dış mekanlarının hem de kent ikliminin mikroklimatik açıdan iyileştirilmesine yönelik öneriler geliştirilmiştir. Araştırma Bulguları: Çalışma sonucunda hava sıcaklığı, bağıl nem, ortalama ışıma sıcaklığı ve rüzgar hızı değerlendirilmiştir. Bu değerlendirmeler sonucunda okul bahçelerinde sert zeminlerde sıcaklık stresinin yüksek, bitkilendirilmiş alanlarda düşük olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Sıcaklık seviyesinin yükseldiği alanlarda bağıl nem seviyesinin düşük, düşük sıcaklıklarda bağıl nemin yüksek olduğu saptanmıştır. Ortalam ışıma sıcaklığının bitkilerin bulunduğu alanlarda yüksek derecede serinletici etkiye sahip olduğu saptanmıştır. Rüzgar hızının açık alanlarda yüksek, bitki yoğunluğunun arttığı noktalarda düştüğü gözlenmiştir. Sonuç: Bu çalışma ile Okul dış mekan tasarımlarında yeşil alanların sayısız faydalarının yanında iklimsel yönden de önemli katkılar sağlayacağı sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Sert zemin oranlarının çok fazla yeşil alanların çok az miktarda bulunduğu okul bahçelerinde yeşil alanların çoğaltılması ile birlikte daha kaliteli yaşam alanları oluşturulacağı düşünülmektedir.
Holding large conferences and events usually encourages the corresponding government to upgrade the host city. For this process, incorporating additional costs to increase accessibility for the elderly is a feasible means for a city to develop in an age-friendly manner. Providing evidence-based reports to policy makers is conducive to implementing the policies of age-friendly cities. This study used the scenario method to simulate the effect of promoting the "age-friendly cities" strategy on residents' psychological capital and social engagement (SE). We found that promoting the construction of age-friendly cities can significantly improve residents' psychological capital and SE and that residents from all age groups can benefit. This paper provides an economical means to influence policymakers through evidence-based reports in promoting the development of age-friendly cities.
The landscape and its perception influence the quality of life of a local community. Recreation areas bring a lot of benefits to society, also in terms of mental health. Open space and contact with nature, particularly during a crisis such as the pandemic, help alleviate the effects of the lockdown and social isolation. The study objective was to determine whether and to what extent the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the importance of recreation areas and the perception of landscape among students—a social group that experiences mood disorders increasingly often and has been severely affected by the lockdown. A survey was conducted in two stages, using a Google Forms online survey. A total of 381 students from universities in Lublin participated in the survey. The survey showed that the significance of recreation areas increased during the pandemic. The perception of landscape changed as well: the value of nature, scenic views, and the therapeutic effect of the landscape began to be appreciated to a greater extent. The survey results indicate the need to ensure the diversity of green areas and improve their accessibility. Designing these areas should also consider quiet areas as well as ensuring green mobility and places of recreation.
This paper examines the role of the classroom environment in promoting student well-being and, more specifically, a sense of responsibility towards nature in the city. The study analyzed how indoor vs outdoor educational environments affect students' perception of events and phenomena focusing on emotional, behavioral and cognitive processes. It was conducted in the Kayakyolu Secondary School, Erzurum, Turkey with 282 students ranging in age from 11 to 14 in grades 5–8. They participated in reading a story in two distinct environments: an enclosed indoor classroom and an outdoor botanical garden. Significant differences in the emotional, behavioral and cognitive approaches of the students in these two environments were obtained at p < .05. All three approaches (emotional behavioral and cognitive) in the botanical garden environment produced higher positive values than those of the classroom environment. The rate of negative emotions of the students in the botanical garden was 23.3% and increased to 40.1% in a closed classroom environment. It was clearly observed that the environmental awareness and sensitivity of the students educated in botanical garden was absolutely higher than those of an indoor environment. The responses indicating behaviors of not adversely interfering with natural processes and indicating the value of living in harmony with nature increased in the botanical garden. The findings of this research demonstrate that environmental education conducted in a natural environment is more effective as compared to the education given in the classroom setting. The study supports the proposition that future generations educated in natural surroundings will be better able to make more accurate, creative, and resilient decisions for the environment.
Research suggests that the formation of neighborhood social ties (NSTs) may substantially depend on the informal social contact which occurs in neighborhood common spaces, and that in inner‐city neighborhoods where common spaces are often barren no‐man's lands, the presence of trees and grass supports common space use and informal social contact among neighbors. We found that for 145 urban public housing residents randomly assigned to 18 architecturally identical buildings, levels of vegetation in common spaces predict both use of common spaces and NSTs; further, use of common spaces mediated the relationship between vegetation and NSTS. In addition, vegetation and NSTs were significantly related to residents' senses of safety and adjustment. These findings suggest that the use and characteristics of common spaces may play a vital role in the natural growth of community, and that improving common spaces may be an especially productive focus for community organizing efforts in inner‐city neighborhoods.
緑地の視覚心理的効果を明らかにするために, 本実験では生垣, ブロック塀, さらに緑量的にそれらの中間的な段階の視覚対象として樹木とブロックの比が2:5, 4:3, 5:2となる場合の5つの対象物をみたときの脳波, 特にα波β波について分析を行った。 その結果, α波とβ波の合計値に占めるα波の割合が, ブロックに対する樹木の割合が半分以上になると高くなる傾向を示した。 一般に, 安静時にはα波が増え, 緊張時にはβ波が増えると言われていることから, この傾向はブロックが緊張感をもたらし, 樹木はそれを和らげる効果があることを示唆するものであることが明らかになった。
The findings suggest that stressed individuals feel significantly better after exposure to nature scenes rather than to American urban scenes lacking nature elements. Compared to the influences of the urban scenes, the salient effect of the nature exposures was to increase Positive Affect — including feelings of affection friendliness, playfulness, and elation. The increase in positive affect produced by the nature scenes is consistent with the finding that the nature exposures also significantly reduced Fear Arousal. According to psychological theories, a reduction in arousal or activation produces pleasurable feelings if an individual is experiencing stress or excessive arousal (Berlyne, 1971, pp. 81–82). In contrast to the nature scenes, the urban views tended to work against emotional well‐being. The major effect of the urban scenes was to significantly increase Sadness. There was also a consistent but non‐significant tendency for the urban scenes to‐aggravate feelings of Anger/Aggression, and for the nature scenes to reduce such feelings. The urban exposures also held the attention of subjects somewhat less effectively than the nature exposures. These findings were stable across sexes, and applied to subjects who had grown up in either rural or urban environments.
Research has shown that people typically give high aesthetic preference ratings to trees with spreading canopies, similar to those found on the African savanna. If the savanna hypothesis is correct, people likely will have strong emotional responses to such trees as well. In this study, preferences and emotional responses of 206 participants to viewing scenes with different tree forms and urban elements were examined. Slide images of spreading, rounded, or columnar trees, or inanimate objects in two urban scenes were created. As expected, participants found scenes with trees more attractive than scenes with inanimate objects, and they rated spreading trees more attractive than rounded or columnar trees. Participants reported more positive emotions when viewing trees compared to inanimate objects, and they were happier when viewing spreading trees compared with other tree forms. These results are consistent with the savanna hypothesis, with emotional responses relating to preferences for trees with spreading forms.
Although vegetation has been positively linked to fear of crime and crime in a number of settings, recent findings in urban residential areas have hinted at a possible negative relationship: Residents living in "greener" surroundings report lower levels of fear, fewer incivilities, and less aggressive and violent behavior. This study used police crime reports to examine the relationship between vegetation and crime in an inner-city neighborhood. Crime rates for 98 apartment buildings with varying levels of nearby vegetation were compared. Results indicate that although residents were randomly assigned to different levels of nearby vegetation, the greener a building's surroundings were, the fewer crimes reported. Furthermore, this pattern held for both property crimes and violent crimes. The relationship of vegetation to crime held after the number of apartments per building, building height, vacancy rate, and number of occupied units per building were accounted for.
Subjects viewed sixty color slides of either (1) nature with water, (2) nature dominated by vegetation, or (3) urban environments without water or vegetation. The information rates of the three slide samples were equivalent. Measurements were taken of the effects of the slide presentations on alpha amplitude, heart rate, and emotional states. Results revealed several significant differences as a function of environment, which together indicate that the two categories of nature views had more positive influences on psychophysiological states than the urban scenes. Alpha was significantly higher during the vegetation as opposed to urban slides; similarly, alpha was higher on the average when subjects viewed water rather than urban content. There was also a consistent pattern for nature, especially water, to have more positive influences on emotional states. A salient finding was that water, and to a lesser extent vegetation views, held attention and interest more effectively than the urban scenes. Implications of the findings for theory development in environmental aesthetics are discussed.
S. Kaplan suggested that one outcome of mental fatigue may be an increased propensity for outbursts of anger and even violence. If so, contact with nature, which appears to mitigate mental fatigue, may reduce aggression and violence. This study investigated that possibility in a setting and population with relatively high rates of aggression: inner-city urban public housing residents. Levels of aggression were compared for 145 urban public housing residents randomly assigned to buildings with varying levels of nearby nature (trees and grass). Attentional functioning was assessed as an index of mental fatigue. Residents living in relatively barren buildings reported more aggression and violence than did their counterparts in greener buildings. Moreover, levels of mental fatigue were higher in barren buildings, and aggression accompanied mental fatigue. Tests for the proposed mechanism and for alternative mechanisms indicated that the relationship between nearby nature and aggression was fully mediated through attentional functioning.
All over the world there is an increasing interest in research results showing the impact of the physical environment on people's health and well-being. The realization that good design, both indoors and outdoors, not only generates functional efficiency but also strengthens and improves health processes has given rise to a new branch of architecture, called Design and Health (Dilani, 2001). Knowledge and awareness of how good design as well as bad design may influence people's well-being is increasing among architects as well as among interior decorators and landscape architects. An expression of design and health in landscape architecture is to be found in the movement around healing gardens, i.e. gardens that in different ways may influence the visitor in a positive way (Cooper Marcus & Barnes, 1999). In Sweden today, the concept of healing has several connotations, some quite concrete, others more spiritual and mental. Generally speaking, however, healing may be said to be a process that promotes overall well-being (Cooper Marcus & Barnes, 1999). In medical anthropology the individual's personal, subjective experience of recovery is also emphasized (Janzen, 2002). It is in other words equally important that the illness is cured in a purely medical respect and that the individual experiences a personal feeling of recovery. Is it, then, possible for a garden to be anything else than healing? Is not the aspect of healing woven into the very concept of garden? Myths all over the world depict the garden as an enclosed and safe place where one takes refuge to find shelter, comfort, and relief from sorrow and pain (Prest, 1988;
During the past 20 years, findings have indicated that nature plays an active role in helping people recover from stress and fatigue. Two of the most cited theories in this field are Rachel and Stephen Kaplan's theory of recovery from Directed Attention Fatigue in nature and Roger Ulrich's theory of aesthetic and affective responses to natural environments and stress recovery. One aim of the present study is to test whether being outdoors in a green recreational environment causes people to be more focused, compared to being in a room indoors (in line with hypotheses suggested by the Kaplans). Another aim is to test whether people experience stress reduction, i.e. as evidenced by changes in blood pressure and heart rate, if they are placed in an environment with many green elements (in line with hypotheses suggested by Ulrich). The overall study design is that of an intervention study. Fifteen elderly persons living at a home for very elderly people participated. Their powers of concentration, blood pressure and heart rate were measured before and after an hour of rest in a garden or in an indoor setting. Seven elderly people were randomly chosen to have their first series of tests in a garden, while eight elderly people had their first series of tests indoors. The results indicate that powers of concentration increase for very elderly people after a visit to a garden outside the geriatric home in which they live, compared to that after resting indoors in their favourite room. The results did not show any effects on blood pressure or heart rate. It is suggested that having a one-hour rest outdoors in a garden setting plays a role in elderly people's powers of concentration, and could thereby affect their performance of activities of daily living. One important factor in this study was that both the outdoor environment and the indoor environment at the home were highly valued by participants.
Examined whether the presence of nearby nature might lend urban public housing residents the psychological resources to grapple with the challenges facing them. More specifically, it examines whether natural elements in the public housing outdoor environment—trees and grass—can assist in restoring the very psychological resources likely to be depleted in the struggle against poverty. In 145 urban public housing residents randomly assigned to buildings with and without nearby nature, attentional functioning and effectiveness in managing major life issues were compared. Residents living in buildings without nearby trees and grass reported more procrastination in facing their major issues and assessed their issues as more severe, less soluble, and more longstanding than did their counterparts living in greener surroundings. Mediation tests and extensive tests for possible confounds supported the attention restoration hypothesis—that green space enhances residents' effectiveness by reducing mental fatigue. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Environmental preferences vary with the environments evaluated and the people who evaluated them. When research has considered the explanatory power of person variables, it has focused on traits or demographic characteristics. Little research has considered how environmental preferences vary with regularly occurring psychological states, such as attentional fatigue. In this experiment, we investigated the need for psychological restoration as a within-individual determinant of the common preference differential between natural and urban environments. We treated preference as an attitude, constituted of beliefs about the likelihood of restoration during a walk in a given environment and the evaluation of restoration given different restoration needs. College students (N=103) completed the procedure just before a morning lecture (less fatigue condition) or immediately after an afternoon lecture, which itself followed the passage of time and other activities over the day (more fatigue condition). In both fatigue conditions, participants reported more favorable attitudes toward a walk in a forest than a walk in a city center, but this difference was larger with the more fatigued. This result apparently owes to the more fatigued participants’ more positive evaluation of attentional recovery, and a greater judged likelihood of restoration when walking in the forest.
We used a direct rating approach based on definitions of each construct to measure the four components of a restorative environment proposed by attention restoration theory (ART): being away, extent, fascination, and compatibility. We used the same approach to measure two criterion variables, perceived restorative potential (PRP) of a setting and preference for the setting, as well as four additional predictor variables (openness, visual access, movement ease, and setting care). Each participant rated 70 settings, 35 each from urban and natural environments, for only one of the variables. Mean ratings were higher for the natural than the urban settings for both criterion variables and all four restorative components, with differences significant in all cases except for fascination. Correlations across settings generally followed the predictions of ART, but collinearity appeared among several sets of variables, most notably being away and setting category, PRP and preference, and extent and fascination. Despite these problems, regression analysis showed that being away and compatibility predicted PRP and that the pattern of prediction for PRP and preference was somewhat different. r 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.
Research suggests that the formation of neighborhood social ties (NSTs) may substantially depend on the informal social contact which occurs in neighborhood common spaces, and that in inner-city neighborhoods where common spaces are often barren no-man's lands, the presence of trees and grass supports common space use and informal social contact among neighbors. We found that for 145 urban public housing residents randomly assigned to 18 architecturally identical buildings, levels of vegetation in common spaces predict both use of common spaces and NSTs; further, use of common spaces mediated the relationship between vegetation and NSTS. In addition, vegetation and NSTs were significantly related to residents' senses of safety and adjustment. These findings suggest that the use and characteristics of common spaces may play a vital role in the natural growth of community, and that improving common spaces may be an especially productive focus for community organizing efforts in inner-city neighborhoods.
Attention Restoration Theory (ART) proposes that effortful directed attention can become fatigued in modern urban environments. Restoration can occur in a setting that evokes fascination (effortless attention). Ordinary natural settings evoke soft fascination, that is, moderate fascination accompanied by esthetic pleasure. Such settings enable a fully restorative experience, including the recovery of directed attention and the opportunity for serious reflection. Settings broadly classified as sports/entertainment are more likely to evoke hard fascination, that is, very high levels of fascination that fill the mind. Such settings permit directed attention recovery but afford little opportunity for reflection. We tested these ideas by having participants rate the perceived restorative effectiveness of three kinds of settings (ordinary natural, sports/entertainment, and everyday urban) under two goal-set conditions (as places for attentional recovery or for reflection). Ordinary natural settings were seen as having the highest overall restorative effectiveness, everyday urban settings as having the lowest, and sports/entertainment settings as in between. Moreover, sports/entertainment settings were seen as higher in restorative effectiveness for the attentional-recovery goal set than for the reflection goal set. No such goal-set difference occurred for the other two setting categories combined. These results are in agreement with the predictions of ART.
Our purpose was to investigate perceived tranquility (theoretically a combination of moderate fascination and aesthetic pleasure) and perceived danger in urban and natural settings. We explored the relationship of these two target variables to each other and to a set of three predictor variables: openness, setting care, and nature (amount of foliage and vegetation). Participants rated each of 48 color slides, evenly divided between urban and field/forest natural settings, for only one of the five variables. Several predictions derived from Attention Restoration Theory for tranquility and from a review of the environmental criminology literature for danger were supported: (1) tranquility was rated higher in natural than in urban settings, and the reverse was true for danger; (2) tranquility and danger were negatively correlated across all settings; (3) the three predictor variables were generally positively related to tranquility and negatively related to danger. Two variations from the general pattern of results emerged in model-testing analyses that controlled for setting category and the presence of other predictors. First, the negative relationship between setting care and perceived danger was stronger for urban than for natural settings, indicating that setting care is more salient for judgments of danger in urban settings. Second, openness was a significant predictor of danger (a negative relationship) but not of tranquility. These variations suggest that tranquility and danger probably should be viewed not as polar opposites but as distinct constructs.
This study evaluates three healing gardens surrounding a pediatric cancer center. All gardens contained seating, flowers and plants, but varied in size, features, and in user groups’ access to them. A post-occupancy evaluation (POE) yielded a dataset of 1400 garden-users for whom demographic information, activities, and length-of-stay were recorded. Results indicate differential usage patterns across gardens, user category (patient, visitor, or staff), and age (adults and children). The largest garden with most direct patient access was the most used. Staff mostly used the gardens to walk-through or to sit and eat, rarely interacting with features intended for active engagement. Despite patient and child-friendly designs, the overwhelming majority of visitors were adults who mostly engaged in sedentary activities. Children who did use the gardens interacted with garden features significantly more than adults. Although patient rooms are situated at ground-level around the gardens to promote window views of the gardens, the findings suggest an inverse relationship between patient window use and the number of people in the gardens. Finally, preliminary data suggest that emotional distress and pain are lower for all groups when in the gardens than when inside the hospital. Provisional design implications of these findings are discussed.
Children growing up in the inner city are at risk of academic underachievement, juvenile delinquency, teenage pregnancy, and other important negative outcomes. Avoiding these outcomes requires self-discipline. Self-discipline, in turn, may draw on directed attention, a limited resource that can be renewed through contact with nature. This study examined the relationship between near-home nature and three forms of self-discipline in 169 inner city girls and boys randomly assigned to 12 architecturally identical high-rise buildings with varying levels of nearby nature. Parent ratings of the naturalness of the view from home were used to predict children's performance on tests of concentration, impulse inhibition, and delay of gratification. Regressions indicated that, on average, the more natural a girl's view from home, the better her performance at each of these forms of self-discipline. For girls, view accounted for 20% of the variance in scores on the combined self-discipline index. For boys, who typically spend less time playing in and around their homes, view from home showed no relationship to performance on any measure. These findings suggest that, for girls, green space immediately outside the home can help them lead more effective, self-disciplined lives. For boys, perhaps more distant green spaces are equally important.
Different conceptual perspectives converge to predict that if individuals are stressed, an encounter with most unthreatening natural environments will have a stress reducing or restorative influence, whereas many urban environments will hamper recuperation. Hypotheses regarding emotional, attentional and physiological aspects of stress reducing influences of nature are derived from a psycho-evolutionary theory. To investigate these hypotheses, 120 subjects first viewed a stressful movie, and then were exposed to color/sound videotapes of one of six different natural and urban settings. Data concerning stress recovery during the environmental presentations were obtained from self-ratings of affective states and a battery of physiological measures: heart period, muscle tension, skin conductance and pulse transit time, a non-invasive measure that correlates with systolic blood pressure. Findings from the physiological and verbal measures converged to indicate that recovery was faster and more complete when subjects were exposed to natural rather than urban environments. The pattern of physiological findings raised the possibility that responses to nature had a salient parasympathetic nervous system component; however, there was no evidence of pronounced parasympathetic involvement in responses to the urban settings. There were directional differences in cardiac responses to the natural vs urban settings, suggesting that attention/intake was higher during the natural exposures. However, both the stressor film and the nature settings elicited high levels of involuntary or automatic attention, which contradicts the notion that restorative influences of nature stem from involuntary attention or fascination. Findings were consistent with the predictions of the psycho-evolutionary theory that restorative influences of nature involve a shift towards a more positively-toned emotional state, positive changes in physiological activity levels, and that these changes are accompanied by sustained attention/intake. Content differences in terms of natural vs human-made properties appeared decisive in accounting for the differences in recuperation and perceptual intake.
The population of the United States of America is currently experiencing increased illness from dispersed and synergistic causes. Many of the acute insults of the past have receded due to centralized health care and regulatory action. However, chronic ailments including asthma and allergies, animal-transmitted diseases, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and depression are on the rise. These diverse illnesses join with forest fragmentation, stream degradation, wetlands destruction, and the concomitant loss of native species to suggest detrimental contributions from the built environment.
Most work on healing places has involved sites associated with the Western cultural tradition and expressed in focused locations. This paper examines a non-Western culture and a diffuse landscape of healing. Everything in Navajo culture could be called 'religious,' in that religious feeling cannot be separated from any aspect of a traditional Navajo life. Much of this religious feeling is embodied in the landscape itself. This article explores the ways in which the physical landscape, the spiritual landscape, the symbolic landscape, and the built environment-intertwine and interact to produce a sacred geography which functions as a healing landscape.
This study reports on the development and psychometric validation of a perceived restorative components scale for children (PRCS-C). Children (n=112 boys, n=113 girls) aged 8 to 11 years completed an initial pool of 23 items addressing the components of a restorative environment to assess two familiar, everyday environments- their school playground and their school library. Factor analysis indicated a five-factor model (Being Away– Physical, Being Away- Psychological, Fascination, Compatibility and Extent) of 15 items best fit the data, consistent with prior adult restorativeness measure research and fitting within Kaplan’s Attention Restoration Theory. Satisfactory internal consistency was found for four of the five factors, with a two-item construct of Extent being lowest. School playgrounds had significantly higher restoration potential than school libraries, when compared with school classrooms, indicating divergent validity of the measure. Results were examined by sex and age and differences reported as a broad indicator of the measure’s ability to differentiate between groups of people’s reports of perceived restorativeness and possible developmental differences.
The increase in stress and stress-related ill- health is escalating dramatically in the Western World. An alarmingly growing part of the bud- get for medical services in Sweden is being used for people suffering from different stress-rela- ted ill-health. In this paper, we present some results from a study in which 656 randomly selected people in nine Swedish cities answered a questionnaire addressing their experiences of stress and their use of green outdoor environments at their workplaces. The results may be interpreted as showing that access to a garden at work may have a positive impact both on stress and on "trivsel", a Swedish word meaning comfort, pleasure and well-being. Apart from actually being in a garden, a view of a garden may also decrease employees' level of stress and affect trivsel in a positive way. According to our results, laying out more and easily accessible gardens adjacent to workplaces could create environments that are more resto- rative and freer from demands and stress.
Research and teaching in environmental health have centered on the hazardous effects of various environmental exposures, such as toxic chemicals, radiation, and biological and physical agents. However, some kinds of environmental exposures may have positive health effects. According to E.O. Wilson’s “biophilia” hypothesis, humans are innately attracted to other living organisms. Later authors have expanded this concept to suggest that humans have an innate bond with nature more generally. This implies that certain kinds of contact with the natural world may benefit health. Evidence supporting this hypothesis is presented from four aspects of the natural world: animals, plants, landscapes, and wilderness. Finally, the implications of this hypothesis for a broader agenda for environmental health, encompassing not only toxic outcomes but also salutary ones, are discussed. This agenda implies research on a range of potentially healthful environmental exposures, collaboration among professionals in a range of disciplines from public health to landscape architecture to city planning, and interventions based on research outcomes.
The paper reports on a study that looks at the impact of a corrections environment upon prisoners through a process of monitoring inmate attendance at sick call clinic. Contrasting cell block designs and characteristics are compared on the basis of significant differential demands for health care services emanating from specific areas. Known psychological and physiological responses to situations perceived to be threatening provide the theory that health behavior may be used as one indirect measure of environmentally induced stress. Findings suggest there are architectural design features of the prison environment that provide basis of perceived threats to inmate safety and survival. Loss of privacy on several dimensions appears to be a critical environmental characteristic.
This article investigates the direct and indirect effects of windows in the workplace onjob satisfaction, intention to quit, and general well-being. The impact of three specific influencing mechanisms are examined: general level of illumination, sunlight penetration, and view. The extent to which these environmental features might moderate the negative consequences of job stress is investigated. The sample consisted of 100 white-and blue-collar workers who were employed in a large wine-producing organization in the Mediterranean region of Southern Europe. The results showed a significant direct effect for sunlight penetration on job satisfaction, intention to quit, and general well-being. A view of natural elements (i.e., trees, vegetation, plants, and foliage) was found to buffer the negative impact of job stress on intention to quit and to have a similar, albeit marginal, effect on general well-being. No effects for general level of illumination were found.
A new direction for medical geographic study is suggested, the analysis of places which have attained an enduring reputation for achieving physical, mental, and spiritual healing. The reasons for the efficacy of these therapeutic landscapes can be examined by using themes derived from the traditional landscape ideas of cultural geography, humanistic geography, structuralist geography, and the principles of holistic health. These themes are categorized as inner/meaning (including the natural setting, the built environment, sense of place, symbolic landscapes, and everyday activities) and outer/societal context (including beliefs and philosophies, social relations and/or inequalities, and territoriality). By using a methodology termed an 'archaeology of discourse' in which written and oral documents are examined, the themes are used to investigate the healing reputation of the Asclepian sanctuary at Epidauros, Greece. Study findings have policy implications for health-care practice today.
Abstract The ‘restorative environment’ concept sees considerable use in the ,environment-behaviour-design field these days. Much of the ,concept’s appeal has to do ,with how ,it helps us to ,relate health to experiences in natural environments. With this paper I offer some,support for efforts to develop,and apply knowledge,about restorative environments,as health,resources. I will also share some,thoughts onwhere,we stand,with research on restorative environments,and where research in the area can go next. More specifically, I will discuss how we define restoration; a general framework for theories about restorative environments; some,requirements of empirical tests of those theories; and the public health vs. therapeutic values of restorative environments. Keywords:Natural environments; restoration; restorative environments; stress
Withdrawal of land from agricultural production is creating possibilities for reafforestation in several areas of Europe. Reafforestation can serve recreational as well as ecological goals. The present study considers the effects of two ecologically significant forest design characteristics, accessibility and vegetation density, on mood, an outcome relevant to recreational planning. It simultaneously addresses the more general question of how changes in mood correspond to movement through an environment. The two forest design variables were manipulated both between and within subjects in a two (high accessibility vs interrupted accessibility) by two (dense vs half-open vegetation) by four (consecutive forest sections) design. The experimental manipulations combined sets of sequential photographic slides with verbal descriptions regarding aspects of accessibility (i.e. presence vs absence of a path, passableness, possibilities for orientation). Subjects (n=98) were randomly sampled residents of Leiden, recruited by telephone and screened for prior hiking experience. All provided seven affective appraisals for two preliminary recreational area sections and then the four experimental forest sections. The affective appraisals could be interpreted in terms of arousal and pleasure dimensions of mood. Arousal and pleasure scores were both affected by the accessibility manipulations in keeping with expectations while the manipulations of vegetation density were somewhat less influential.
The nearby natural environment plays a far more significant role in the well-being of children residing in poor urban environments than has previously been recognized. Using a premove/postmove longitudinal design, this research explores the linkage between the naturalness or restorativeness of the home environment and the cognitive functioning of 17 low-income urban children (aged 7–12 yrs). Both before and after relocation, objective measures of naturalness were used along with a standardized instrument (the Attention Deficit Disorders Evaluation Scale) measuring the children's cognitive functioning. Results show that children whose homes improved the most in terms of greenness following relocation also tended to have the highest levels of cognitive functioning following the move. The implications with respect to policy and design are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
A considerable body of folklore and scientific research alludes to the efficacy of the vernacular environment to influence both aesthetic experience and general well-being. To examine explicitly whether stress recovery and/or immunization varies as a function of the roadside environment, 160 college-age participants, both male and female, viewed one of four different video-taped simulated drives through outdoor environments immediately following and preceding mildly stressful events. Overall, it was anticipated that participants who viewed artifact-dominated drives, relative to participants who viewed nature-dominated drives, would show greater autonomic activity indicative of stress (e.g. elevated blood pressure and electrodermal activity), as well as show altered somatic activity indicative of greater negative affect (e.g. elevated electromyographic (EMG) activity over the brow region and decreased activity over the cheek region). In addition, it was expected that participants who viewed nature-dominated drives would experience quicker recovery from stress and greater immunization to subsequent stress than participants who viewed artifact-dominated drives. The overall pattern of results is consistent with both hypotheses and the findings are interpreted to support postulating a sympathetic-specific mechanism that underlies the effect of nature on stress recovery and immunization.
Theory and research dealing with place identity and restorative environments have for the most part proceeded independently. Assuming that emotional- and self-regulation are processes underlying the development of place identity, and that a person's favorite place is an exemplar of environments used in such regulation processes, the present study goes beyond preliminary observations about restorative aspects of favorite places to consider how individuals evaluate their favorite places using terms set out in restorative environments theory. Finnish university students (n=78) evaluated the central square of their city (Tampere) and favorite and unpleasant places of their own designation using the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS), an instrument based on attention restoration theory. Consistent with notions of self-regulation, PRS subscale scores for Being Away, Fascination, Coherence, and Compatibility were all high in the favorite place evaluations, but Coherence and Compatibility were reliably higher than Being Away, which was in turn reliably higher than Fascination. Also, PRS subscale scores for the favorite places were reliably higher than those for the central square, which were in turn higher than those for the unpleasant places. Furthermore, differences were also found in self-reported emotional states associated with each place. The discussion suggests ways to develop further mutually reinforcing relations between restorative environments research and research on place identity.