Differences in Visual Attraction between Historical Garden and Urban Park Walking Scenes

Abstract

Previous studies on visual perception and landscape element preference have mainly focused on urban green spaces such as parks and forests; the visual attraction potential of historical gardens has been less explored. Based on the analysis framework of the visual landscape experience, this study employed normalized eye-tracking data and preference questionnaires to compare the difference in visual attraction of typical walking scenes between historical gardens and urban parks. The results showed that in terms of landscape elements, the variation fluctuation of the fixation time on various landscape elements by participants viewing historical garden walking scenes (HGWSs) was less than for urban park walking scenes (UPWSs). Additionally, the visual perception scores of the former (i.e., fascinating, coherent, complex, and mysterious) were higher than the latter. In terms of the visual attention area, the visual exploration of HGWSs around the scene (i.e., top, bottom, left, and right) was longer than for UPWSs, while the latter’s central fixation time was longer than that of the former. The visual attraction of HGWSs was related to the foreground and middle ground, while that of UPWSs was related to the middle ground and background. Additionally, for policy makers and managers of urban green spaces, the recommendation of the present study was to consider and evaluate the differences between HGWSs and UPWSs in terms of visual attraction before policy establishment.