Effects of Landscape Types and Complexity Along Path on Mental Restoration

This study checked the effects of landscape types and complexity along path in urban green spaces on perceived restorativeness, so as to provide guidance for path landscape design.

Paths in urban green spaces are not only the connections between places but also places for visitors reducing mental stress and seeking psychological well-being. However, there is a lack of evidence-based research on the effects of landscape composition along the path on restorative quality, failing to provide a cohesive guideline for practice.

Fourteen videos representing the popular path landscapes in urban green spaces were produced using computer software by adding or/and deleting elements and controlling environmental components. The restorative quality of these videos was measured by Short-version Revised Restoration Scale (SRRS). Statistical analysis was employed to treat the data and checked the effects of different landscape types and complexity on restorative quality.

(1) A significant difference in restorative quality between 14 path landscapes was found, comparatively, the path containing lawn or(and) forest was much better than that containing bamboo and waterscape, and bamboo was a negative predictor of restorative quality; (2) waterscape generally reduced the restorative quality of vegetated path landscape, especially when the landscape possessed higher restorative quality; (3) path landscape complexity had a weak influence on restorative quality.

This study explains how path landscapes affect mental restoration of users, and these findings contribute to enhancing the restorative quality of urban green spaces and have applications for path landscape design.