Quality analysis and categorisation of public space
M. Lorenzo,
M.L. Ríos-Rodríguez,
E. Suárez,
B. Hernández,
C. Rosales
Affiliations
M. Lorenzo
Department of Cognitive, Social and Organizational Psychology, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain; Department of Health Sciences, Universidad Europea Miguel de Cervantes, Valladolid, Spain; Corresponding author. Campus de Guajara, s/n, 38071. Faculty of Psychology, Department of Cognitive, Social and Organizational Psychology, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain.
M.L. Ríos-Rodríguez
Department of Social Psychology, Social Work, Social Anthropology and E.A.O., Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain
E. Suárez
Department of Cognitive, Social and Organizational Psychology, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain
B. Hernández
Department of Cognitive, Social and Organizational Psychology, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain
C. Rosales
Department of Cognitive, Social and Organizational Psychology, Universidad de La Laguna, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain
Public spaces are considered areas that promote users’ physical and mental health. The role of these people in public spaces makes it necessary to evaluate such areas. In this study, 12 urban parks on the island of Tenerife were evaluated, combining the assessment of a trained observer and the perception of users, to analyse and categorise the environmental quality of the parks. The findings of this study conclude that users are good evaluators of public spaces; that the Public Space Characteristics Observation Questionnaire (PSCOQ) tool allows the classification of public spaces and that physical order is capable of predicting the environmental quality and the restorative capacity of spaces, as perceived by users. The PSCOQ observation tool makes it possible to detect the strengths and weaknesses of public spaces so they can be improved and adapted to the needs of users.
