Differences of Restorative Effects While Viewing Urban Landscapes and Green Landscapes

Abstract

Attention Restoration Theory argues that natural objects such as trees and flowers have psychological restoration effects. However, relevant studies have been mostly based on survey methods, and few of them suggest guidelines for restoration environments. This study, therefore, aims to verify the restorative effect of natural objects using eye-tracking methods and a survey regarding visual aesthetics, complexity, and the Perceived Restorativeness Scale, as well 25 various images divided into 4 types: natural scene and close view, natural scene and distant view, built scene and close view, and built scene and distant view. The analysis showed that natural scenes had a stronger positive restorative effect compared to built scenes regardless of differences in the distance. In terms of the overall landscape composition, visual characteristics such as visual aesthetics and complexity had a statistically significant relationship with restorative effect. Additionally, an eye-tracking method was found to be a valid and useful tool for studying the restorative environments by significant differences in the scan path length depending on the four types of landscape images. This study ultimately provides an overview regarding restorative design guidelines not only by using natural elements but also by considering landscape composition in terms of complexity, openness, and so on.

The Restorativeness of Outdoor Historical Sites in Urban Areas: Physical and Perceptual Correlations

“…Most of the previous studies [8][9][10][11] use Kaplan's Attention Restoration Theory (ART) [12] and the Perceived Restorativeness Scale, proposed by Hartig [13], or its variations [14][15][16] to investigate the restorative values of spaces. According to ART [12], four main components of the environment contribute to restoration.…”

Foliage colors improve relaxation and emotional status of university students from different countries

“…Contact with nature has relaxing effects and increasing attention has been paid to its healing effects [46]. Natural elements have mainly been identified as a key tool for enhancing the restoration impact in this context [47].…”

“…The present study results revealed that fixation numbers and duration are associated with color preference. Furthermore, eye movement can be used to identify which element has a therapeutic potential by identifying the elements that show a higher fixations numbers and longer durations on specific areas than other components [46]. A recent study, which combined eye movements with physiological measures while seeing a Japanese garden, concluded positive associations between eye movement and heart rate variability, recommending a link between engagement/focus and relaxation [51].…”

The Relationships between Perceived Design Intensity, Preference, Restorativeness and Eye Movements in Designed Urban Green Space

“…For example, Hoyle et al [42] surveyed 1141 respondents who walked through plantings and found that people perceived higher restorativeness with moderately natural or the most natural planting structure than with the least natural structure. Kang and Kim [44], using two variables-natural/built scene and close/distant view-found that regardless of difference in distance, natural landscapes were perceived as more restorative than urban environments and visual aesthetics and complexity contributed to the restorative effect. Although these existing studies have dealt with various predictors for restorative effects and have broadly established the significant relationship between landscape preference and restorativeness, their results provide limited guidance for landscape architects when deciding between landscapes using different design interventions.…”