96 Hami et al: The Relationship Between Women’s Preferences for Landscape Spatial Configurations Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 2020. 46(2):96–108 URBAN FORESTRY ARBORICULTURE Scientific Journal of the International Society of Arboriculture & The Relationship Between Women’s Preferences for Landscape Spatial Configurations and Relevant Socio-Economic Variables By Ahmad Hami, Mahsa Tarashkar, and Farzin Emami Abstract. People’s preferences for urban parks are influenced by the spatial and contextual characteristics of spaces, where landscapes form the main body of parks. The present study examined women’s preferences for landscape spatial quality indicators (including coherence, mys- tery, complexity, legibility, prospect, and refuge) in two urban parks. Also, the study explored the impact of socio-economic variables such as age, income, and education on women’s preferences. In this spirit, a photo survey was conducted among 178 women as park users in Tabriz in 2017. Descriptive analysis, factor analysis, and comparison tests such as one-way ANOVA were used to analyze the data. Based on the results, the highest preferences were for mystery, complexity, and prospect. The results also revealed that the preference for landscape spatial quality indicators (LSQIs) varies among different age groups, education levels, and income statuses, where middle-aged women show the highest pref- erence toward all of the LSQIs. Similarly, perception of and preference for landscape were seen to increase with education level, with less edu- cated women demonstrating the lowest preferences for LSQIs in a park environment. Also, women with low and high income levels had the highest preference for mystery, complexity, and prospect of LSQIs. The population of middle-aged residents is increasing, which renders it nec- essary for special attention to be paid to understanding their opinions and demands for public spaces, such as landscape quality. It was likewise confirmed that users’ characteristics should be taken into account in planting design, particularly its spatial configurations in urban parks. Keywords. Landscape Preference; Landscape Spatial Quality Indicators; Tabriz City; Users Characteristics. INTRODUCTION Landscape preference studies have commonly focused on two different branches, namely landscape spatial quality and landscape content quality (e.g., Kaplan and Kaplan 1989). The spatial quality is the organiza- tion and composition of landscape elements (such as trees, shrubs, and flowers)(Nielsen et al. 2012). Stud- ies on landscape perception might predict the func- tion of individuals in nature (van den Berg et al. 2007). Perception also has a critical role in determin- ing appropriate land use policies and preservation of sustainable landscapes (Council of Europe 2000). The quality of landscape significantly affects people’s mental well-being, as it helps them find some relief from stress and fatigue (Berman et al. 2012). In pro- viding a comfortable environment for citizens, their public perceptions and interpretations must be accounted for (Kaymaz 2012). ©2020 International Society of Arboriculture It seems that the spatial quality of the environ- ments plays a paramount role in the awareness of environmental issues and people’s feelings. Some researchers have come to recognize the importance of understanding public preferences toward landscape improvements; at the end of the day, new landscape developments will be experienced by various groups of people (Vouligny et al. 2009). People’s preferences for landscape are influenced by their socio-economic and demographic characteristics (Howley et al. 2012). In addition, it was disclosed that preference for landscapes varies with education (Molnarova et al. 2012), gender (Lindemann-Matthies et al. 2010), age (van den Berg and Koole 2006), and expertise (Vouligny et al. 2009). Hami et al. (2016) explored public preferences for indoor landscape in a shopping mall. Their findings revealed significant differences between age groups and income levels in visual
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