How visual cues affect enjoyment of parks

Green spaces within urban areas add to the visual aesthetic of the area. Thank you, Captain Obvious, right? But it turns out that there’s more to it than simply plunking down a green field in the middle of a city. Urban dwellers, like anyone else, are sensitive to nuanced visual cues among these green spaces. There are a number of factors that contribute to our enjoyment of — and experience in — a park.

According to a study, water features and diverse vegetation provide visual cues that give park visitors enjoyment – it isn’t just about the greenery. Image from Megan Mc89.

The assertion that park enjoyment is contingent on visual perception comes from recent research conducted by two Turkish academics (Polat and Akay, 2015). Their work was just published in the journal Urban Forestry and Urban Greening.

Polat and Akay took numerous photographs of green spaces in and around Konya, Turkey. They assessed “landscape perception” among a group of participants intended to be representative of the city’s general population.

The result: people like diverse vegetation and sufficient water surface area. You won’t “wow” anyone (at least not in Kenya) with an open, monochromatic green field and no water features. Unsurprisingly, participants also reported positive association with functional elements, including ample shade, wide pedestrian walkways, and highly functional recreational areas.

Perhaps one of the less obvious factors contributing to perception: whether or not the park is “orderly,” meaning laid out in a coherent manner. Coherence makes a green space easy to navigate. In order to be coherent, a space must include “memorable components,” specifically visual cues that “help with orientation.” This is yet another reason that diverse vegetation is considered to be a critical component. Telling your friend to “meet you at the old oak tree in the park” means very little if the park has 100 old oak trees and not much else.

Think visual perception of green spaces doesn’t matter much in the grand scheme of things? Polat and Akay would encourage you to think again. “Currently, examining and describing the visual characteristics of any area within the context of recreational planning studies is of considerable importance worldwide; especially within the context of tourism and recreation, the most important factor regarding the natural environment is its visual and/or landscape quality.”

In a 2012 article, Polat et. al asserted that visual perception of a green space influences the usage of the space.

Translation: City planners and managers, if you want people to visit your town, and if you want those visitors as well as residents to actually get out and enjoy themselves, put serious thought into the planning and landscape architecture of green spaces.

The Project for Public Spaces (PPS) organization would seem to agree with Polat and Akay. “Observing how the park is used and measuring people’s perceptions of it are key elements in understanding what changes can be made to transform a park into a successful ‘place.’” PPS also underscores that parks can “contribute significantly to the quality of urban life.”

Returning to the idea of orderliness as a contributing factor toward enjoyment of green spaces: Polat and Akay rely primarily on visual cues such as landmarks (e.g. a water fountain, a unique patch of vegetation, etc.) to help users gain a sense of coherence as they navigate a green space. And, yet, there are also more overt methods of facilitating green space navigation. Case in point: Wayfinding signage.

It’s a long ways from Konya, but the city of Chicago is known for extensive park space, with 552 parks spread throughout the city’s system. They’re also known for investing in extensive wayfinding infrastructure to enhance users’ understanding of — and, by extension — enjoyment of the park space.

Wayfinding signage is increasingly common in green spaces, and it may help users get the most out of a space. (No one likes wandering around unmarked paths for an eternity just to find that darn boathouse.)

The bottom line: We assess parks based on what we see, and we use that visual perception to inform decisions about if and how we will use the space. If a space seems easy to navigate and is visually interesting, featuring diverse vegetation and functional elements, we’re more likely to spend time there.