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Conference paper2015Peer reviewedOpen access

The serene and other affordances in parks in Demanding urban contexts

Skärbäck, E.; Wen, L.; Aleksandrova, S.; Grahn, P.

Abstract

Since the 1980s, a number of studies have suggested that stays in and/or views of natural sites are good for people's health. However, all natural areas are not equally good: Some qualities have been identified as being particularly beneficial. Perceived Sensory Dimensions (PSDs) consist of eight different types of affordances in urban parks as well as in natural areas. These PSDs can be used by landscape architects and urban planners to create more pleasant and healthy urban areas. The question is whether the PSDs are perceived and interpreted in the same way in different parts of the world. In the present study, we were interested in comparing the inhabitants of cities in different cultural spheres: Do they prefer the same types of PSDs and if so why? Are they able to find them in the cities they live in? Two equivalent studies of preferences for the eight PSDs were conducted in China and Russia: in the cities of Huanggang and St. Petersburg. Despite differences in culture and history, great similarities were found in people's desires for environmental outdoor improvements and that serenity was the most preferred and most lacking affordance. Hence, people's preferences for affordances in outdoor green open spaces seem to have great similarities, in spite of cultural backgrounds. This presentation discusses this study in the context of other studies in several countries that have used the method of the eight PSDs; to analyze, compare and come to conclusions about the need for landscape improvements. The conclusion is that the PSDs seem to be interpreted in a similar way regardless of cultural background and context.

Published in

Title: History of the future : 52nd World Congress of the International Federation of Landscape Architects : Congress proceedings 10–12 June 2015 Saint-Petersburg, Russia
ISBN: 9785742248774Publisher: Saint-Petersburg State Polytechnic University, Polytechnic University Publishing

Conference

52nd World Congress of the International Federation of Landscape Architects: History of the Future, IFLA 2015