Grahn, Patrik
- Department of People and Society, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Research article2022Peer reviewedOpen access
Shayestefar, Marjan; Pazhouhanfar, Mahdieh; van Oel, Clarine; Grahn, Patrik
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.
Sustainability
2022, Volume: 14, article number: 7357
Future Urban Sustainable Environment (FUSE) (until Jan 2017)
Built environment
SLU Future One Health
SLU Urban Futures
SDG11 Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
SDG3 Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Landscape Architecture
Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology
DOI: https://doi.org/doi.org/10.3390/su14127357
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/117536