Examining the Relationship Between Key Visual Characteristics of Urban Plazas and Aesthetic Response

Farhana Ferdous

doi:10.1177/2158244013485581

Abstract

Urban plazas as public spaces occur in every town and city around the world; however, some plazas are more user-friendly and successful than others. This study examined that “aesthetics” also have a significant impact to determine the extent of success of urban plazas and urban open spaces in combination with other quantitative factors, such as centrality of location, provision of services, and amenities. In addition, this research sought to focus on the relationship between visual characteristics and aesthetic response to urban plazas. Photo elicitation and focus interviews were conducted to identify key visual characteristics as well as to examine aesthetic responses to those characteristics. Eight plazas and designed urban open spaces in Dhaka, Bangladesh, featured in the main study, and research methods included a structured questionnaire to collect data and used semantic differential rating scales as a measuring instrument. Outcomes from this research indicate that a positive aesthetic response was linked to specific visual characteristics of urban plazas, suggesting that this information could be used to more effectively refurbish existing and design new urban plazas as public spaces.

Highlights

Public space is essential for the well-being of communities and societies
It is likely that positive aesthetic response in relation to urban plazas depends to a certain extent on the visual attributes of architectural characteristics and features, and a logical assumption is that successful urban plazas may be those that generate positive aesthetic responses
Strong correlation occurs among the four variables linked to aesthetic response

Summary

Introduction

Public space is essential for the well-being of communities and societies. Parks, plazas, squares, and other urban open spaces provide a vital connection with nature and can positively affect quality of life (Marcus & Francis, 1998). Keywords aesthetic response, mixed-method study, public space, urban plaza, visual characteristics This article explores the architectural and visual characteristics of urban plazas as public spaces in relation to aesthetic responses.

Results

Conclusion