Does the Presence of Birdsongs Improve Perceived Levels of Mental Restoration from Park Use? Experiments on Parkways of Harbin Sun Island in China

Xun Zhu, Ming Gao, Wei Zhao and Tianji Ge
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Xun Zhu: School of Architecture, Harbin Institute of Technology, Key Laboratory of Cold Region Urban and Rural Human Settlement Environment Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Harbin 150006, China
Ming Gao: School of Architecture, Harbin Institute of Technology, Key Laboratory of Cold Region Urban and Rural Human Settlement Environment Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Harbin 150006, China
Wei Zhao: School of Architecture, Harbin Institute of Technology, Key Laboratory of Cold Region Urban and Rural Human Settlement Environment Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Harbin 150006, China
Tianji Ge: School of Architecture, Harbin Institute of Technology, Key Laboratory of Cold Region Urban and Rural Human Settlement Environment Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Harbin 150006, China

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 7, 1-18

Abstract: Green spaces in cities and urban parks serve as central areas for mental restoration and relieving pressure, and attention to soundscapes for their mental health benefits has become more prevalent. Birdsongs are perceived to enhance the restorative benefits of urban parks. This study examines Harbin Sun Island Park, the main bird habitat in the city of Harbin with numerous types of landscapes. We used space syntax to select the appropriate path space as a carrier and the pixel grid method to quantify path space shapes. A correlation analysis of field data was also used to explore the perceived restorative effects of birdsongs heard in urban parks using scales detailing the perceived restorative effects of various visual and auditory stimuli. The results show that soundscapes can significantly improve perceived recovery benefits, and that hearing birdsongs can significantly improve the perceived restorative benefits of wetland paths; the sky index of a tour path showed a significantly negative correlation with each feature (i.e., the four featured dimensions of “charm”, “escape”, “ductility” and “compatibility” included in the recovery scale), and the soft/hard ratio showed a significantly negative correlation with each studied feature. When the sky index ranged from 13–36%, tree coverage of the vertical coverage range was 30.28–38.6%, and when the soft/hard ratio ranged from 5–21, the perceived recovery benefit was strongest.

Keywords: urban park; birdsong; perceived restorative; path; soundscape (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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