Assessing the impact of vegetation configurations on the sense of safety and comfort in urban green spaces of Sri Lanka

Abstract

The urban public spaces are often neglected and underused as a result of discomfort and lack of sense of safety perceived by the users while occupying these spaces. Urban green spaces play a vital role in providing both physical and psychological revitalization for the users in the midst of busy urban living. Exploration of the factors which leads to this anxious and distress feelings in users of urban green spaces is necessary for developing user friendly and sustainable urban public spaces. The current study aims to develop a self-assessment tool for assessing safety and comfort levels in urban green spaces and to evaluate the impact of vegetation configurations on sense of safety and comfort through a multiphase methodology. The self- assessment tool was developed through a focus group discussion following a principal component analysis done based on 174 responses from expert responses. The results generated an 18 variable self-assessment tool for determining levels of sense of safety and comfort. For the second phase 9 attributes were selected as the qualities of vegetation configurations. Out of these, visual hotspots and visual complexity are analysed through panoramic photographs and shade levels digital hemispherical photographs while degree of enclosure, degree of exposure, relative scale, view depth, visual permeability and physical accessibility were observed and measured onsite. These qualities were analysed with the sense of safety and comfort levels assessed through the self-assessment tool developed. A total of 1039 responses were collected (539 onsite responses and 500 online responses) and t-test results showed that there is no significant difference between the two categories. Thus, a stepwise linear regression analysis with both the categories of respondents showed that attributes visual permeability, sky visibility and degree of enclosure is associated positively while visual complexity, physical accessibility and relative scale is associated negatively with sense of safety and comfort. The outcomes of this study can provide better insights to the perception of the users which can be eventually used in designing and modifying better and user oriented urban green environments.