Window View to the Sky as a Restorative Resource for Residents in Densely Populated Cities

Abstract

We investigated the extent to which the amount of sky and other contents affect expectations that window views will support psychological restoration in an urban context. The study involved 102 digital view images across which the amount of sky and other contents were varied systematically through manipulation of variables relevant to urban densification. University students ( N = 212) rated images on restorative quality (being away, fascination), restoration likelihood, or preference. We aggregated the ratings for each variable for each image and used the images as cases in analyses. Amount of sky and presence of a window box with greenery had direct positive effects on restoration likelihood judgments, as well as indirect effects mediated by being away and fascination. Ground-level views with people and street trees evoked ratings similar to those for some views with sky, but the views judged most restorative and most liked were those with the most sky.