Audio-Visual Preferences for the Exercise-Oriented Population in Urban Forest Parks in China

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the audio-visual preferences of exercisers in urban forest parks in China and to make practical suggestions for park landscape design. Taking Beigushan Forest Park in Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province as a case, based on field research and questionnaire survey, this study analyzed the audio-visual preference characteristics of exercisers in the park, revealed the correlation between audio-visual preference and exercisers’ behaviors and individual characteristics, and explored the influence of audio-visual preferences on exercise feelings by establishing a structural equation model. It was found that (1) the forest and its avenue landscape and birdsong are most preferred by exercisers; (2) the audio-visual preferences of people with different exercise forms differ, for example, people who slowly walk, run, and briskly walk have stronger preferences for natural soundscape and visual landscape, while people who use fitness equipment have stronger inclusiveness for human activity sound and prefer public facility-based landscapes. In addition, some individual characteristics such as exercise intensity and exercise frequency significantly affect exercisers’ audio-visual preferences; (3) visual landscape preferences have a greater direct impact on exercise feelings, with natural waterscape having the greatest direct impact, but overall soundscape preferences do not have a high degree of direct impact on exercise feelings, with natural sound still having a strong positive impact. These findings provide a more quantitative basis for the landscape design of urban forest parks from the perspective of exercise behavior.