Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 46(2): March 2020 preferences for interior landscapes. As age and income level increase, the preference for interior landscape also increases. Previous studies have shown that land- scape preferences are influenced by age (e.g., Richard- son and Mitchell 2010; Wang and Zhao 2017). Hami and Tarashkar (2018) have shown that middle-aged women had the highest preferences for native plants in Tabriz, Iran. Wang and Zhao (2017) proved that education levels and the respondents’ gender influ- ence their preferences for landscape aesthetic quality. Kaltenborn and Bjerke (2002) found that age and education had a notable influence on preference for farm environments. Torgler et al. (2008) examined the impact of gender and age on people’s preferences and decision makings; they found that women have a higher tendency as well as stronger preferences for the environment. However, they found a negative correlation between age and environmental prefer- ences. Another study examined the impact of income and social welfare on public preferences for land- scape (Ferreira and Moro 2013). They reported that income level has an impact on preference for land- scape, but the impact of education and other socio- demographic characteristics were recognized as most notable and significant (Ferreira and Moro 2013). A large number of studies over the past few years have focused on examining differences between gen- der groups toward environment related issues (e.g., Xiao and McCright 2015). Some studies have veri- fied that women have stronger attitudes toward envi- ronmental issues (Xiao and McCright 2015) and are more aware of them due to their higher tendency toward socialization (Zelezny et al. 2000). Also, women seem to be more likely to participate in pro-environmental behaviors than men (Rezai et al. 2011); the male participants felt a lower sense of safety in a very open and spacious scene because it didn’t offer the capability for hiding. The research by Ghamari et al. (2015) points to the fact that women pay more attention to landscape details, while men perceive landscape as a whole. For example, strong colors may cause women fatigue, while men do not pay attention to it. The differences in the perceptions held by men and women are well established across these studies, which also establish the necessity of separate planning for the needs of men and women. In addition, because of religious beliefs in Islamic countries like Iran, women face certain restrictions in public spaces, but over the years, many public spaces 97 such as parks have been allocated exclusively to women and called “Ladies Parks.” The gap here then is to understand how women perceive landscape quality in urban parks, which the current study sets out to address. In this regard, understanding women’s perceptual preferences for spatial quality of land- scapes in parks constitutes the objective of the study. This study also seeks to find if socio-economic vari- ables (such as age, income, and education) affect women’s preferences for landscape spatial quality indicators, and also how these characteristics affect women’s preferences. MATERIALS AND METHODS Study Area This study was conducted in the city of Tabriz, Iran, which is the capital of East Azerbaijan, located at the extreme north-west of Iran at longitude 46°17.514′ E and at latitude 38°4.8′ N, lying 4580 feet (1396 m) above sea level. Tabriz is influenced by the local steppe climate. Due to the high altitude, this plain has long, cold winters and temperate summers. The max- imum average temperature of the region is 18 °C in August and July, and the minimum average tempera- ture is -7 °C in January. The average annual precipita- tion is 250 to 300 mm. Because of the presence of mountains near the city such as the Sahand Mountain, the wind blowing is evident on most days of the year. The direction of the winds of Tabriz in different sea- sons is from the northeast and the west. Based on the results of a 2016 census, the population of the city is 1,558,693 people. It is the fifth most populated city in Iran. The questionnaire was distributed in Shams Tabrizi Park and El Goli Park, which are the two famous and beautiful parks in the city. Shams Tabrizi Park is located in the central part of the city. This park benefits from traditional Iranian architecture. The El Goli Park is one of the most important places for rec- reation in the city, which is located in the southeast of Tabriz, 7 kilometers to the city center (Figure 1). El Goli Park was announced as one of Iran’s National Heritage Sites on 15 February 2009. Landscape Scene Preparations Kaplan and Kaplan (1982) have developed Informa- tion Processing Theory. The theory explains that an environment is a source of information. Generally, this theory focuses on people who are interested in searching for the information in an environment, and ©2020 International Society of Arboriculture
March 2020
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