Influence of green spaces on environmental satisfaction and physiological status of urban residents

Influence of urban green spaces on human was evaluated with subjective questionnaires as well as physiological measurements. Five sample plots vary in color, size and scent of major plants and one no-vegetation area located in Shanghai Botanical Garden, China were chosen. 249 questionnaires on subjective satisfaction evaluation were collected; in addition to 64 visitors took the measurement of physiological parameters like Electroencephalogram (EEG) and Electrocardiogram (ECG). Questionnaire results show that color is one of the most important factors which affect the overall satisfaction of people with their vegetation environment. The way how people perceive vegetation environment was probed by PCA analysis. Age difference analysis show children and elder people presented higher satisfaction with vegetation environment than adults. Significant negative correlation between the ratio of low-frequency to high-frequency (LF/HF) values in heart rate variability (HRV) analysis and satisfaction values indicated HRV may be an effective parameter for green spaces influence evaluation.

[1]  Giuseppe Carrus,et al.  Comparison of two different approaches for assessing the psychological and social dimensions of green spaces , 2006 .

[2]  F R Calaresu,et al.  Influence of cardiac neural inputs on rhythmic variations of heart period in the cat. , 1975, The American journal of physiology.

[3]  R. Mitchell,et al.  Effect of exposure to natural environment on health inequalities: an observational population study , 2008, The Lancet.

[4]  J Björk,et al.  Recreational values of the natural environment in relation to neighbourhood satisfaction, physical activity, obesity and wellbeing , 2008, Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

[5]  M. Scopelliti,et al.  Empirical research in environmental psychology: Past, present, and future , 2009 .

[6]  Grete Grindal Patil,et al.  Psychological Benefits of Indoor Plants in Workplaces: Putting Experimental Results into Context , 2007 .

[7]  Standard Ashrae Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy , 1992 .

[8]  Arne Arnberger,et al.  The influence of green space on community attachment of urban and suburban residents , 2012 .

[9]  G. Carrus,et al.  Benefits and well-being perceived by people visiting green spaces in periods of heat stress. , 2009 .

[10]  P. O. Fanger,et al.  Thermal comfort: analysis and applications in environmental engineering, , 1972 .

[11]  Zhiwei Lian,et al.  Heart rate variability at different thermal comfort levels , 2008, European Journal of Applied Physiology.

[12]  D. S. Davis,et al.  Tracking restoration in natural and urban field settings. , 2003 .

[13]  T. Daniel Whither scenic beauty? Visual landscape quality assessment in the 21st century , 2001 .

[14]  Y Yao,et al.  Heart rate variation and electroencephalograph--the potential physiological factors for thermal comfort study. , 2009, Indoor air.

[15]  G. Sanesi,et al.  Residents and urban green spaces: the case of Bari. , 2006 .

[16]  Richard de Dear,et al.  A field study of thermal comfort in outdoor and semi-outdoor environments in subtropical Sydney Australia , 2003 .

[17]  T. Gärling,et al.  Environmental influences on psychological restoration. , 1996, Scandinavian journal of psychology.

[18]  Shivanand Balram,et al.  Attitudes toward urban green spaces: integrating questionnaire survey and collaborative GIS techniques to improve attitude measurements , 2005 .

[19]  Ulrika K. Stigsdotter,et al.  The relation between perceived sensory dimensions of urban green space and stress restoration , 2010 .

[20]  L. Tyrväinen The amenity value of the urban forest: an application of the hedonic pricing method , 1997 .

[21]  J. Dwyer,et al.  The Significance of Urban Trees and Forests: Toward a Deeper Understanding of Values , 1991, Arboriculture & Urban Forestry.

[22]  B. Oken,et al.  Vigilance, alertness, or sustained attention: physiological basis and measurement , 2006, Clinical Neurophysiology.

[23]  Chen-Yen Chang,et al.  Human response to window views and indoor plants in the workplace. , 2005 .

[24]  K. Seeland,et al.  Are urban green spaces optimally distributed to act as places for social integration? Results of a geographical information system (GIS) approach for urban forestry research , 2004 .

[25]  Gary Fry,et al.  Health effects of viewing landscapes - Landscape types in environmental psychology , 2007 .

[26]  Bo Chen,et al.  Assessment of aesthetic quality and multiple functions of urban green space from the users’ perspective: The case of Hangzhou Flower Garden, China , 2009 .

[27]  L. Jackson The relationship of urban design to human health and condition , 2003 .

[28]  N. Owen,et al.  Environmental factors associated with adults' participation in physical activity: a review. , 2002, American journal of preventive medicine.