Landscape Preference: The Role of Attractiveness and Spatial Openness of the Environment

To live a healthy lifestyle, urban residents need contact with nature and restoration in a natural environment. Environmental psychology has investigated the types and features of natural environments that could be optimal for restoration. Using a sample of undergraduates from the Czech Republic, the present study explored whether attractive and open natural environments are liked more and perceived as more restorative than unattractive and closed environments. Furthermore, this study explored which spatio-cognitive dimensions and emotional qualities of the environments are associated with the liking and perceived restoration of the environments. It was found that attractive and open environments were liked significantly more and had a significantly higher level of perceived restoration than attractive closed environments, but in the nonattractive environments, the openness of the environments had no significant effects on liking and perceived restoration. Although we only found a significant contribution of the spatio-cognitive dimension of mystery to liking and perceived restoration, emotional qualities of the environment were a good predictor for the liking and perceived restoration of natural environments. The effects of the aesthetic qualities of images and the photographic techniques used should also be considered. The results are discussed in connection with the fact that preference for attractive landscapes may lead to an underestimation of the value of ordinary nature in neighborhoods.