Assessment of Sighted and Visually Impaired Users to the Physical and Perceptual Dimensions of an Oasis Settlement Urban Park

Abstract

Inclusive design (ID) is a design process that ensures that all people, particularly marginalized groups, can use the environment. Inclusive design (ID) in architecture is based on accurate data related to user experiences where the users’ perception of the built environment demonstrates the optimal facilitation of their expectations, needs, and demands. Despite this, in studies about inclusive design and multisensory architecture, the perspective of visually impaired people (VIP) is still lacking, especially in accessing public spaces. To address this gap, this study aims to investigate how sighted and visually impaired people perceive an oasis settlement urban park’s physical environment and verify the similarities and differences between these two categories. The research was conducted by applying two approaches, one qualitative based on a series of field surveys and the other quantitative relying on in situ measurements of the physical dimensions of the environment. The main findings of this study show that visually impaired people deserve special consideration due to their varying abilities to perceive the surrounding environment. Furthermore, the results indicate that auditory environments are more perceptible to the visually impaired than the sighted. In contrast, findings from the analysis of the perceived restorativeness scale (PRS-11) show that sighted users of the park have a slightly higher average score than visually impaired users regarding its components of Fascination, Being-Away, Coherence, and Scope. According to the Semantic Differential Scale of Multi-Variable Evaluation of the Park Environment, there are no significant differences between park users’ perceptions of the park’s nature and the thermal environment. The conclusion suggests that to ensure users’ well-being, it is crucial to understand the different individual needs among groups of users and come up with innovative and all-inclusive solutions.

Park Inclusive Design Index as a Systematic Evaluation Framework to Improve Inclusive Urban Park Uses: The Case of Hangzhou Urban Parks

“…According to the data, the overall performance of inclusive design in parks is in the middle range and varies between parks, which means that the performance of inclusive design is uneven and should be improved. This overall conclusion is consistent with those reached by other researchers in Algeria, India, and New Zealand [27,29,30]. Among them, the inclusive design of comprehensive parks and specialized parks is relatively effective compared to leisure parks and community parks.…”

“…This model further clarifies the paths and key factors for inclusive evaluation, providing theoretical references for future landscape justice research and practices [26]. Furthermore, visual accessibility was determined with an experiential landscape approach, while physical accessibility and activity intensity along pathways were measured using space syntax methods [27]. In the USJ area of Malaysia, geographic information system (GIS) technology was utilized, applying Moran's I and Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA) to analyze the accessibility of youth-friendly neighborhood parks [28].…”

The Restorative Effects of Urban Parks on Stress Control Ability and Community Attachment

“…However, some researchers also include scope as an additional dimension to evaluate the restorative environment [48]. Scope focuses on the range and diversity of stimuli and behaviors that individuals perceive and engage in within the natural environment, assessing the impact of perceiving and exploring various elements of the natural environment on restoration [50,51].…”