The relation between perceived sensory dimensions of urban green space and stress restoration

When walking in nature is not restorative—The role of prospect and refuge

“…We know relatively little about the role of prospect-refuge on perceptions, preferences and restoration. Existing evidence, for instance on the role of refuge appears to be conflicting (see Stamps, 2008a and2008b) and operationalization of variables is inconsistent (Grahn & Stigsdotter, 2010). It will be worth further exploring the role of potentially mediating variables such as fear or mystery.…”

“…This research, however, focused mostly on simulated environments and did not study restoration. Grahn and Stigsdotter (2010) suggested that refuge is one of the most significant variables in restorative environments for stressed individuals.…”

Introducing a method for mapping recreational experience

“…Building further on the tradition's core focus on a range of important recreational qualities, Grahn and Stigsdotter (2010) proposed a change by viewing people's experience of positive recreational qualities as a set of so-called 'perceived sensory dimensions'. In line with methods and findings in earlier research (especially Berggren-Bä rring and Grahn, 1995), they confirmed that the Swedish population perceives recreational experience in urban green spaces through eight dimensions.…”

“…On the other hand, representation of an experienced space within planning necessarily does imply a certain level of reductionism or quantification (Stå hle, 2006). For example, Grahn and Stigsdotter (2010) found that from a health perspective some (combinations of) experiences are in general more beneficial than others. Following Stå hle (2006), the challenge for city planning is then to produce a practically useful method, which at the same time meaningfully represents the valued places and experiences of users.…”

“…Another drawback of the methodology is that it currently only focuses on positive experiences and not negative ones, underlining the assumption that people actively seek positive experiences in green spaces (Grahn and Stigsdotter, 2010). Nuisances are thus only recorded insofar as they reduce positive experiences.…”