The Role of Complexity, Coherence, and Imageability on Visual Preference of Urban Street Scenes

Abstract

This study meant to explore the role of several visual quality concepts, i.e., complexity, coherence, and imageability, on people’s preference for street scenes in the urban area. The study chose three different street characteristics in the town of Malang-Indonesia as the case study sites that consist of commercial street, historic commercial street, and historic residential street. This research applied a field survey using a questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale and seven-point multiple rating scale techniques. There were 363 respondents participated in the survey. Data analysis employed descriptive statistics and simple regressions analysis to identify the influence of complexity, coherence, and imageability quality on urban street scenes’ visual preference. Results indicated that coherence and imageability consistently play essential roles in people’s preference for the three types of street scenes. Meanwhile, complexity quality only influences visual preference on a historic residential street and does not influence people’s preferences on commercial streets.