Audio-visual interaction and visitor characteristics affect perceived soundscape restorativeness: Case study in five parks in China

The capacity of urban parks to contribute to soundscape restorativeness, understood here as contributions to people’s recovery from attentional fatigue and reflection on life issues, is receiving increased interest in research and policy. However, scientific understanding of the influential mechanism of perceived soundscape restorativeness is still not clear. This paper aims to explore the effects of audio-visual interaction on perceived soundscape restorativeness (PSR) of urban parks, considering visitors of different social and demographic characteristics. The research design comprises a survey of 419 visitors to five urban parks in Fuzhou, China, general structure equation modeling, and multi-group model analysis. The results show a substantial dependence of visitors’ PSR values on respective perceptions of soundscape pleasantness and eventfulness, especially soundscape pleasantness. Visual landscape characteristics showed mediating effects on the influence of soundscape pleasantness and eventfulness on the perceived soundscape restorativeness (19.3 % and 28.3 % of the total effect, respectively). Age was the most influential social and demographic characteristic affecting the PSR, followed by gender, while occupation and educational background showed only limited effects. Future development of urban parks should strongly integrate soundscape design considerations to enhance positive PSR effects for visitors.     

Understanding the relationship between small urban parks and mental health: A case study in Shanghai,China

The literature to date has mainly explored the impact on public mental health of green spaces around residential areas, large urban parks, family gardens, blue spaces, national parks, etc., while few studies have examined the association of Small Urban Green Spaces (SUGS) with public mental health. The role, function, and service radius of SUGS in urban people’s lives are quite different from those of general green spaces, and the relationship and mechanism linking general green spaces to mental health cannot be fully applied to small parks. This work was conducted to: 1) investigate the relationship between SUGS and mental health; 2) understand what factors affect mental health; 3) determine what kind of SUGS is more conducive to improving mental health. SUGS’ designs and physical characteristics were evaluated with the Natural Environment Scoring Tool (NEST) and user information for 10 SUGS (1–5 ha) in Shanghai in 2021 was collected via a questionnaire. We developed a multilevel model for exploring the factors affecting mental health from two aspects: the individual level and the park level. This study found that SUGS and mental health were positively associated. In addition to individual–level variables like income, marital status, social cohesion, and use frequency, park–level variables such as usability, aesthetics–natural features, and civilized environment are also conducive to improving mental health, while entertainment facilities in SUGS have a negative association with mental health. There was no evidence that visit frequency, stay time, social cohesion, or physical exercise act as a mediator between park features and mental health. This study provides empirical evidence for the positive correlation between SUGS and mental health and presents a means of promoting public mental health with efficient SUGS planning and management.     

武汉市公园绿地植物的冠层雨水截留能力研究

公园绿地作为城市建设的重要组成部分,在协调雨洪管理方面具有重要作用 。研究植物冠层雨水截留能力的对 提高公园绿地雨洪功能具有重要意义 。本研究对武汉市公园绿地中常见的 80种植物进行了冠层雨水截留能力的测定与 分析 。结果表明: 同一种生活型的植物冠层雨水截留能力各有不同,具有强雨水截留能力的乔木有圆柏、枇杷、雪松、落羽 杉,灌木有绣球荚速、匍枝亮叶忍冬、杜鹃、木芙蓉,草本植物有麦冬、薏苡、香蒲、金门莎草 。不同生活型植物冠层截留能力 均值也存在较大的差异,针叶乔木的冠层雨水截留能力均值最高,而落叶阔叶乔木冠层雨水截留能力均值最低 。该研究可 为进一步筛选雨水截留能力高、适应武汉本土环境气候环境的公园绿地植物提供科学依据。     

“Restorative-Repressive” perception on post-industrial parks based on artificial and natural scenarios: Difference and mediating effect

The development of post-industrial landscapes at industrial sites plays an important role to fill urban green spaces. However, current research on the use and redevelopment of post-industrial sites has mainly focused on ecological restoration, and studies combined with objective and subjective data to quantify public preferences remain poorly understood. In this study, deep learning was used to semantically segment the post-industrial landscape, and a multiple stepwise regression model was used to analyze the non-linear correlation between quantitative indicators and public “restorative-repressive” perception, and structural equation model (SEM) between quantitative indicators and public perception data were established. We investigated and found (1) Semantic segmentation models for machine learning combined with principal component analysis (PCA) and non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analysis can categorize post-industrial parks into two groups dominated by artificial elements and natural elements. (2) Public perceptions varied more in the natural element-dominated group and less in the industrial element-dominated group. In addition, waterbody in the post-industrial landscape existed as a destabilizing factor. (3) There was a difference in the correlation between quantitative indicators and subjective perceptions in the two categories of parks. (4) Height of industrial building (HIB), function of industrial building(FIB), vegetation succession(VS) were significantly influenced public satisfaction. These findings informed that public satisfaction with post-industrial landscapes can be enhanced by taking full account of the different uses of natural and artificial elements and enabling researchers to analyze the redevelopment of post-industrial landscapes from a new perspective of evidence-based design.     

Three decades of urban forestry in China

Urban forestry has been formally recognized as a codified academic discipline in China’s higher education since 1992. This short communication attempts to revisit the emergence and development of urban forestry in China over the last three decades. Despite the traditional disciplinary division existing between forestry (which focuses on forested landscapes in non-urbanized regions) and landscape architecture (which concerns about individual and collective plants in urbanized environments), urban forestry offers an interdisciplinary convergence point, drawing upon disciplinarily-specific understanding and expertise of both forestry and landscape architecture, that supersedes the urban-rural distinction and could be translated into flexible, integrative, and transdisciplinary approaches for the effective governance of urban and peri-urban forests. With the enrichment of empirical evidence from China’s unique socioeconomic context and the theoretical advancement of urban forestry, innovative practical initiatives like “National Forest City” successfully transform urban forestry knowledge into on-the-ground practices. While China’s unprecedented urbanization has been accompanied by social and environmental problems calling for solutions wherein urban forestry can contribute, it offers a fertile ground for further advancing the development of urban forestry.     

Multiple ecosystem services of informal green spaces: A literature review

Informal green spaces (IGS) such as overgrown vacant lots and urban brownfields constitute a considerable amount of green resources in the city. Given that the increasingly competitive land use of the urban area, enhancing the potential ecosystem services (ES) of IGS through design and management practices is of critical importance. This literature review paper provides an overview of ES delivered by urban IGS: What types of IGS have been discussed? Which ES have been identified in IGS, what interrelationships among different types of ES have been identified, and how can the potential of IGS be enhanced by urban design practices? 112 scientific papers were analyzed for their 1) IGS terms applied, 2) ES studied, 3) current or potential ES discussed, 4) ES trade-offs, and 5) ES assessment methods. Through the review, we found that although different types of ES have been identified in IGS, most studies did not consider ES synergies and trade-offs. The few studies assessing trade-offs of ES in IGS mostly focused on large-scale IGS such as urban brownfields rather than on small-scale IGS such as vacant lands/lots. The literature review highlights two knowledge gaps for future research: the first one is to explore the design and management knowledge that integrate multiple ES in small-scale IGS based on the assessment of potential ES trade-offs and synergies; the second one is to develop the spatial assessment of ES trade-offs and synergies, which is the key to envision design and management interventions that optimize the benefits of IGS. The literature review promotes the acknowledgement of the term IGS through highlighting their value in ES provisioning and further outlines future research directions on small-scale IGS such as vacant lands/lots and patches of spontaneous vegetation.     

Changes in anthropogenic impervious surfaces,precipitation and daily streamflow discharge: a historical perspective in a mid-atlantic subwatershed

Aerial photography provides a historical vehicle for determining long-term urban landscape change and, with concurrent daily streamflow and precipitation records, allows the historical relationship of anthropogenic impervious surfaces and streamflow to be explored. Anthropogenic impervious surface area in the upper Accotink Creek subwatershed (near Annandala, Virginia, USA) was mapped from six dates of rectified historical aerial photography ranging from 1949 to 1994. Results show that anthropogenic impervious surface area has grown from approximately 3% in 1949 to 33% in 1994. Coincident to this period, analysis of historical mean daily streamflow shows a statistically significant increase in the streamflow discharge response (per meter of precipitation) associated with normal and extreme daily precipitation levels. Significant changes were also observed in the frequency of daily streamflow discharge at given volumes above and below the historical daily mean. Simultaneously, the historical magnitude, frequency and pattern of precipitation values 0 mm, 6.0 mm and 35.0 mm show either no statistically significant change or influence on streamflow. Historical changes in streamflow in this basin appear to be related to increases in anthropogenic impervious surface cover. Historical aerial photography is a viable tool for revealing long-term landscape and ecosystem relationships, and allows landscape investigations to extend beyond the temporal and spatial constraints of historical satellite remote sensing data.This revised version was published online in May 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

中国湿地博物馆湿地景观展示特色分析

中国湿地博物馆是以展示湿地景观及文化为主题,集收藏、研究、展示、教育、宣传、娱乐于一体的大众化国家级专业博物馆。其湿地景观的塑造和表达特色明显,在总体设计、道路布局、空间疏理等方面都具有独到之处,且将各种类型的湿地景观化、情景化,在追求精密风格的同时,还夹杂着东方园林中的空间渗透与穿插的浪漫情结。现就中国湿地博物馆景观空间结构及形态设计进行分析,归纳出还原自然,虚实相交、柳暗花明,动态布局,步移景异等湿地景观展示特色。     

广州兰圃升级改造设计解读

文章重点对广州兰圃升级改造设计的前期调研、设计思路和设计内容进行概括性的解读,并对经验和体会进行归纳总结,以期对现状公园升级改造设计具有一定的指导意义。     

“绿量”在城市绿化中的应用研究

通过概述绿量概念的发展过程,介绍了绿量指标从二维平面到三维空间的进步,阐述了绿量概念和提出的意义,介绍了城市三维绿量的测算方法,指出了现在研究中存在的问题。希望通过对绿量概念的进一步阐述,将人们的思维引入到如何充分利用有限绿化空间、科学配置植物及对植物的生态效益进行量化的层面,进而营造较好的绿化模式,提高城市绿地的整体生态效益。