Urban Scape
Aida Arjmandtabar; Raheleh Rostami
Abstract
Highlights- The physical characteristics of streetscapes, including the widths of the pathways, are effective on the functions of Kaplan’s matrix.- Kaplan’s visual preference matrix plays a more effective role in non-urban landscapes than in urban ones.- A higher green index causes more final ...
Read More
Highlights- The physical characteristics of streetscapes, including the widths of the pathways, are effective on the functions of Kaplan’s matrix.- Kaplan’s visual preference matrix plays a more effective role in non-urban landscapes than in urban ones.- A higher green index causes more final visual preferences.- Narrower pathways are stronger functions of Kaplan’s matrix.- Mystery was found to be the most stable variable, and legibility was identified as the weakest in urban landscapes, as well as non-urban ones. IntroductionEvaluations and assessments of the visual preference matrix adopted from Kaplan’s theory in natural and non-urban landscapes have demonstrated that landscapes are preferred by individuals that fulfill the audiences’ needs in four types of perceived quality, including coherence, complexity, legibility, and mystery, under the title of informational variables. However, the theory has not been studied effectively in urban landscapes. The importance of the vegetation that is there on urban pathways, like streets and alleys, due to the daily observation of such landscapes by the citizens, in view of the observers’ environmental and mental health, caused the authors to investigate the effect of this part of observable vegetation in urban landscapes besides other structural factors of pathways, such as their widths, on the perceived and informational variables of Kaplan’s matrix, thereby evaluating the role of the matrix in urban landscapes.Theoretical frameworkAccording to Kaplans, the visual information that facilitates understanding and exploration is very important in the formation of human preferences. The sum of the two information needs and the degree of their deduction by time (urgent or in near future) resulted in a matrix consisting of four informational variables: coherence, complexity, legibility, and mystery. The structure of mystery and complexity is based on the need for exploration (the former by lapse of time and the latter immediately), and the structure of legibility and coherence is based on the need for understanding (the former by lapse of time and the latter immediately). Any landscape, having a degree of these variables, provides a type of perceived quality for the audience. This study aims at understating the level of effectiveness of each of these variables on the audience’s preference, based on the increase in the greenery in pathways of particular widths (8, 10, and 20 meters), to provide the necessary attention for their desirable effectiveness through knowledge of the level of effectiveness of each of such variables.Research methodologyGiven its aim, i.e. to recognize the quality and degree of the effects of the relevant variables on each other, the methodology of this study is descriptive-correlational, and the method of data collection is quantitative based on the structured questionnaire. 280 participants were provided online with the questionnaire, involving a combination of questions and colored images from the streetscapes in question. The streetscape images were taken from the observer’s perspective based on location at the pathway crossroads and some other features, and the questions were borrowed from those raised by Kaplans on the informational variables and provided to the participants more clearly and more fluently. The understanding of the green index of each image and its increased level was accomplished using Photoshop 2020. Finally, the responses were analyzed and assessed through a number of tests using SPSS 24.Results and discussionThe results of preference in States (1) and (2) for the green index obtained through the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test indicated that the average of this variable has increased significantly in all the three pathways with the increase in the green index. In the investigation of the effect of informational variables on the preference variable, the results of the linear regression test indicated that the increase in the green index in the 8m pathway has raised the preference variable, affected by the three variables of coherence, legibility, and mystery (rather than the single variable of mystery in State (1)). Moreover, there have been effects in the 10m and 20m pathways from the two variables of mystery and complexity (rather than the single variable of complexity in State (1)) and the single variable of complexity (rather than mystery in State (1)). An increase in pathway width reduced the effect of informational variables on the preference variable.ConclusionThe results of this study indicate that even in the present situation of the urban landscapes, suffering deficiency in coherence and coordination, an increase in the green index could significantly affect citizens’ satisfaction generally in all pathways. However, with respect to the effect of Kaplans framework on visual preference in artifact landscapes, the results demonstrated that informational variables affect preference more significantly with an increase in the green index in narrower pathways, and the effect decreases as pathway width rises. This implies the sensitivity of concern for narrow pathways, which calls for greater attention to an increase in all informational variables due to the severer enclosure. If pathway width increases, there will be less concern for the lack of coherence in the buildings, while an increase in complexity and mystery is effective in the satisfaction of the audience of such residential streetscapes. Due to its lively, dynamic nature, therefore, vegetation inherently involves the required variety and complexity and great capacity for exploration. It also exhibits sufficient potentials for an increase in the mystery feature through the creation of an attractive enclosure and blockage of the observer’s view. Moreover, this study demonstrated mystery (the most stable of the four informational variables) as the strongest variable with the highest degree of significance and legibility (the last predictor of the preference matrix) as the weakest variable. Thus, it seems that vegetation could have an effective role in the increase in the legibility of urban landscapes with a particular form and scale.
