Abstract
The present study examines whether and in what way aesthetic experience is involved in the judged quality of bicyclist’s route which they have chosen to ride between home and work. In this respect it is considered important to distinguish aesthetic experience from experience that is related to the influence of instrumental or functional features. The aesthetic impact is primarily related to features that stimulate emotional well-being when cycling. An online survey was conducted in three Nordic cities, Odense, Trondheim and Reykjavík, concentrating on cycling in different urban surroundings. The interpretation of the meanings and values associated with certain features or characteristics that influenced the commuting cyclists’ aesthetic experience is in this paper based on three theoretical viewpoints: (1) the phenomenology of perception and experience, (2) urban design theory and (3) environmental aesthetic theories and methods. The last theory involves the interpretation of experience from the environment into aesthetic meaning. The results of the survey indicate that aesthetic experience is of value to most of the respondents and is, therefore, of importance in developing the quality of bicycle routes for commuting. Greenery and contact with the natural environment and distance from motorised traffic are the most important influences on pleasurable aesthetic experience.
Highlights
In a city, a cycle tour between home and work provides a serial experience of changing urban spaces with different characteristics such as congested roads, calm streets, narrow paths and even vegetated parks or fields
The results of this study show that aesthetic experience was important to most of the commuting bicyclists
The aesthetic experience made an important contribution to the quality of bicycling routes in all three cities considered in the study
Summary
A cycle tour between home and work provides a serial experience of changing urban spaces with different characteristics such as congested roads, calm streets, narrow paths and even vegetated parks or fields. Knowledge about bicyclists’ experiences might be an important criterion for the design of cycling-oriented urban spaces, little attention has been paid to this theme in academic research (for exceptions, see Fleming, (2012); Forsyth & Krizek, (2011); Marling & Jespersen, (2013). These studies did not focus on commuting cycling, which is found to have different needs and expectations from cycling for other purposes (Heinen, Wee, & Maat, 2010). The concept of aesthetics is assumed to be the key to the experience of urban space, which is an important dimension of urban design (see Carmona, Tiesdell, Heath, & Oc, 2010)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have