Exploring the Relationship between Key Perceptual Elements of Urban Secondary Wilderness and Its Restorative Benefits

Abstract

Urban secondary wilderness (USWs) is a near-natural place in cities and is an important link to reconnect humans with the natural world. Assessing the perceptual elements of USWs not only provides insight into public perceptions and preferences, but also helps to further explore its relevance to experiential values such as environmental restoration benefits. In this study, we selected three USWs cases located in Fuzhou, the capital city of Fujian Province, China, and constructed an evaluation system containing two types of dimensions and seventeen perceptual elements. Based on the public’s evaluation of the importance of and satisfaction with the perceived elements, we extracted the key perceived elements and analyzed their relationship with environmental restoration benefits. The results indicated that all three USWs cases scored over 4.9 on the Perceived Restoration Scale (PRS). Plants, Landscape color, Water, Landform, Climate, Freedom, and Naturalness are the key perceptual elements of the USWs, and the correlation coefficients between the satisfaction with the above seven perceptual elements and the scores of the PRS were all positive. In summary, USWs is an ideal place for residents to carry out restoration activities, and its key perceptual elements play a driving role.