Ecological Indicators (Apr 2022)
Indicator selection combining audio and visual perception of urban green spaces
Abstract
Recent studies revealed the importance of combined qualities of sound and the visual landscape for human well-being in urban green spaces (UGS). Yet, there is a lack of implementing urban design and management in urban green enviroments that promotes audio-visual qualities for human well-being. One potential reason for this is the rather scattered results of audio-visual indicators linking either to one single type of green or to studies providing indicators that have not been tested if they are generalizable to other cities. In this study, we use two existing general perception models; perceived affective qualities of soundscape (PAQs) and perceived sensory dimensions of landscape (PSDs) and investigate their combined potential as indicators of audio-visual perception of five different types of urban green spaces and their relationship with overall environmental satisfaction. Principal component analysis, pearson correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression exploring the relationships between PAQs and PSDs and overall environmental satisfaction showed that: (1) Semi-open green space and blue space had the most abundant perceived dimensions in both visual and auditory perceptions, followed by the enclosed green space and open green space, while gray space had the least. (2) Four satisfaction models based on audio-visual perception were found in the urban green spaces. Different design measures in different urban green spaces should be taken. (3) The principal components of PAQs and PSDs explained 48% of overall environmental satisfaction, suggesting the validation of them as auditory and visual prediction models. In conclusion, this study reveals that using a combination of PAQs and PSDs provides indicators that can be used to evaluate differences in audio-visual interactions between cities, to increase the possibilities to plan and design UGS for increasing human well-being.
