Effects of Spatial Type and Scale of Small Urban Open Spaces on Perceived Restoration: An Online Survey-Based Experiment

Yujia Zhai, Binbin Fan, Jingyao Yu, Ruoyu Gong and Jie Yin ()
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Yujia Zhai: College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Binbin Fan: College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Jingyao Yu: College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Ruoyu Gong: College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Jie Yin: College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 9, 1-17

Abstract: Small urban open spaces are critical components of high-density urban environments, and could bring multiple health benefits. However, the factors related to the restorative effect of these small urban open spaces are not well studied. This study explored how site type (lawn, water, and plaza) and spatial scales (10 × 10 m, 20 × 20 m, 30 × 30 m, and 40 × 40 m) might be associated with small urban open space’s restorative effects. We created the virtual scene images of the 12 sites and used PRS-11 to measure 1130 participants’ perceived restoration when viewing those images. The results indicated that lawn has the highest restorative effects, and are the most preferred. No significant differences in the restorative effects of sites with different spatial scales were detected, even a 10 × 10 m site has considerable restorative effects. We found high preference contributes to larger differences in the restorative effects of lawns and plazas. Those who prefer the sites may gain more restoration increases when viewing lawn scenes compared to plaza scenes. Moreover, adults over 50 years old have higher perceived restorations, and young adults aged 18–25 have a greater increase in restoration between plaza scenes and natural scenes, indicating young adults could benefit more from the building of small green spaces. These findings have direct implications for design practice. More small urban open spaces of lawn and water should be built to provide more restoration benefits, especially for young people.

Keywords: restoration; small urban open space; spatial scale; landscape type (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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