Are Perceived Sensory Dimensions a Reliable Tool for Urban Green Space Assessment and Planning?

Abstract

Environmental psychologists have developed varying methods for landscape assessment according to how it is perceived and experienced. In the Nordic countries, eight perceived sensory dimensions are increasingly being used as a methodological framework for expert assessments. These are serene, nature, rich in species, space, prospect, refuge, social and culture. Using an onsite questionnaire distributed to green space visitors in Helsingborg, Sweden, this study is the first to examine the representation of the eight sensory dimensions in different types of urban green spaces as experienced by lay people and their relationships with green space attributes. The results showed that (1) prospect then serene and space were the most common, and culture and social the least; (2) the experience of the sensory dimensions varied across the six study sites and was related to their diversity of biotopes and overall size; and (3) respondent experience of the sensory dimensions was consistent across gender, age and frequency and type of recreational use. These results grant legitimacy to the method in assessment and mapping of recreational experience of urban green space.

Investigation into University Students Restoration Experience: The Effects of Perceived Sensory Dimension and Perceived Restorativeness

“…In a more similar attempt, through expert objective measurement approach, it showed that PSDs can positively be associated with users judgement of restorativeness value of urban open green spaces (Peschardt and Stigsdotter 2013). However, in this study, this relationship is established through subjective experience of PSDs and potential restorativeness characteristics, rather than experts objective evaluation approach, which may cause different views in evaluation of qualities in landscape perception (Qiu and Nielsen 2015).…”

“…The relevant studies have supported the validity of assessment of green spaces with these eight perceived sensory dimensions (Qiu and Nielsen 2015;Stigsdotter et al 2017), across different cultural background (Memari et al 2017;Skärbäck et al 2015) and in context of university campus (Skarback and Grahn 2016). In this study each of eight PSD variables is measured through 3 items, which are addressed in the PSDs' studies (e.g.…”

Restoration Experience Measurement Methods in Contact with Green Open Spaces

“…The sensory perception of nature characteristics, especially, PSDs cannot be measured with landscape objective assessment approaches (De Jong et al, 2011). There are studies assessed the experienced green space characteristics, subjectively using selfreported measurement approach by lay-public participants (Lottrup et al, 2012;Stigsdotter and Grahn, 2011;Qiu and Nielsen, 2015;Memari et al, 2017). Studies supported the reliability of PSDs in measuring of green space characteristics using lay-public experiences, with similar outcomes, in different countries despite differences in culture and history (Memari et al, 2017;Sk ärb äck et al, 2015).…”

“…For instance, Peschardt and Stigsdotter (2013) asked two professional landscape architects to objectively evaluate the PSDs of nine small public urban green spaces (SPUGS) on-site. Qiu and Nielsen (2015) explained that experts assessment approach hold a dubious source to involve users' expression, ideas and feelings. Studies have shown the different viewpoints of experts and laypersons in perceiving of the landscape characteristics (Hofmann et al, 2012;Karmanov and Hamel, 2008).…”

Structural Model to Describe Restoration Experience From The Impact of Environmental Qualities and Mediation Effect of Perceived Restorativeness

“…The relevant studies have supported the validity of assessment of green spaces with these eight perceived sensory dimensions (Qiu and Nielsen, 2015;Stigsdotter et al, 2017), across different cultural background (Memari et al, 2017;Ska rb äck et al, 2015) and in con-text of university campus (Skarback and Grahn, 2016). In this study, each of eight PSD variables is measured through 3 items, which are addressed in the PSDs' studies (e.g.…”