Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2022
Exploring the Influence of the Visual Attributes of Kaplan's Preference Matrix in the Assessment of Urban Parks: A Discrete Choice Analysis
Shayestefar, Marjan; Pazhouhanfar, Mahdieh; van Oel, Clarine; Grahn, PatrikAbstract
A significant majority of the literature on natural environments and urban green spaces justifies the preferences that people have for natural environments using four predictors defined by Kaplan's preference matrix theory, namely coherence, legibility, complexity, and mystery. However, there are no studies implicitly focusing on the visual attributes assigned to each of these four predictors. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore the influence of nine visual attributes derived from the four predictors of Kaplan's matrix on people's preferences in the context of urban parks. A discrete choice experiment was used to obtain responses from a sample of 396 students of Golestan University. Students randomly evaluated their preferences towards a set of potential scenarios with urban park images. The results of a random parameter logit analysis showed that all of the attributes of complexity (variety of elements, number of colors, and organization of elements) and one attribute each of coherence (uniformity), mystery (visual access), and legibility (distinctive elements) affect students' choices for urban parks, while one attribute each of mystery (physical access) and legibility (wayfinding) did not affect the choices. Furthermore, the results indicated a preference for heterogeneity of the attributes. The findings of this study can provide instructions for designing parks.Keywords
information processing theory; landscape design; multinomial logit model; predictors of preferencePublished in
Sustainability2022, volume: 14, number: 12, article number: 7357
Publisher: MDPI
Authors' information
Shayestefar, Marjan
Golestan University
Pazhouhanfar, Mahdieh
Golestan University
van Oel, Clarine
Delft University of Technology
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of People and Society
UKÄ Subject classification
Environmental Sciences
Architectural Engineering
Publication Identifiers
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su14127357
URI (permanent link to this page)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/118289