Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 15 (2016) 112–122

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Urban Forestry & Urban Greening

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ufug

Stress recovery and restorative effects of viewing different urban park

scenes in Shanghai, China
Xinxin Wang a , Susan Rodiek b , Chengzhao Wu a,∗ , Yi Chen c , Yuxian Li d
a
Department of Landscape Studies, Key Lab of Ecology and Energy Saving in High-density Human Settlements, College of Architecture and Urban Planning,
Tongji University, Shanghai, China
b
Department of Architecture, Center for Health Systems & Design, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
c
Department of Architecture, Key Lab of Ecology and Energy Saving in High-density Human Settlements, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji
University, Shanghai, China
d
Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Objectives: Many studies have found that natural environments benefit human health and wellbeing,
Received 1 May 2015 but few have measured restorativeness of specific landscape components, especially in Chinese settings.
Received in revised form Because the rapid urbanization of China is accompanied by increasing predomination of hardscape com-
14 December 2015
ponents in cities, the restorative quality of urban green space is a crucial issue. This study explored the
Accepted 14 December 2015
stress recovery effects of different videotaped scenes, using six urban parks and one urban roadway scene.
Available online 17 December 2015
Potentially restorative urban park scenes were controlled for nature-based vs. hardscape components,
presence/absence of people, and level of openness.
Keywords:
Green space
Methods: Subjects were Chinese university students (N = 140) aged 18–24. After completing an oral exam
Hardscape as a stressor, an equal number of males and females were randomly assigned to watch one of the seven
Health benefits videotaped scenes during a stress recovery stage, while data were collected on changes in stress and atten-
Nature-based landscape components tional levels. Physiological responses were measured by Electrocardiography (ECG) and Skin Conductance
Physiological measures Response (SCR). Psychological responses were measured by the state (short-term) version of the State-
Psychological restoration Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S), the Digit Span Backwards (DSB) test, and the Perceived Restorativeness
Scale (PRS).
Results: In a Chinese sample, this study confirmed previous findings that nature-based urban park scenes
relieved stress and restored attentional levels, while viewing an urban roadway increased negative feel-
ings. Overall perceived restorativeness was significantly higher in two scenes depicting a Lawn without
people and a Small Lake, compared with a paved Plaza with or without people, confirming previous find-
ings that restorativeness is associated with predominance of nature-based landscape components. This
study also confirmed previous findings that outdoor scenes without people were more restorative than
scenes depicting people.
Discussion: This study found different levels of restorativeness associated with different landscape fea-
tures, and helped confirm that nature-based components are more likely to reduce stress than hardscape
components, using Chinese urban scenes with a Chinese population. Findings can be used in future plan-
ning and design of urban spaces in China, emphasizing the value of parks and green spaces in relevant
contexts.
© 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Over thousands of years, human beings have been attracted to
nature elements. Exposure to natural settings has been found to
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 13601641938.
E-mail addresses: 12wang@tongji.edu.cn (X. Wang), rodiek@tamu.edu
(S. Rodiek), wuchzhao@vip.sina.com, starlike2005@163.com (C. Wu),
chenyitj@qq.com (Y. Chen), liyuxian@tongji.edu.cn (Y. Li).
have multiple positive effects, such as releasing tension and anx-
iety (Adevi and Mårtensson, 2013; Hansmann et al., 2007; Ulrich
et al., 1991), relaxing tired minds and preventing mental fatigue
(Kaplan, 1995; Sonntag-Öström et al., 2014), increasing and sus-
taining positive emotions (Jo et al., 2013; Hartig et al., 1991),
developing self-discipline and sense of control (Taylor et al., 2002),
and boosting happiness and creativity (Fjørtoft and Sageie, 2000).
A growing body of research suggests that natural environments
are more likely than human-made environments to reduce peo-
ple’s stress (Hartig et al., 2003; Parsons et al., 1998), while crowded

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2015.12.003
1618-8667/© 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
 X. Wang et al. / Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 15 (2016) 112–122
and noisy urban environments can aggravate people’s feelings of
anxiety (Cooper et al., 2009; Sullivan and Chang, 2011; Velarde
et al., 2007). Relatively little research has been conducted on
nature-based restoration specific to Chinese settings and cultural
preferences (Lei et al., 2011). For example, an extensive systematic
review (Velarde et al., 2007) included mainly European, Scandi-
navian, and US-based studies, with no studies in Chinese settings;
only one Chinese (Taiwanese) study was (Han, 2003) discussed. This
study was based entirely on Western-originated research, with no
discussion of cultural differences. Although several studies have
explored cross-cultural differences in landscape perception (e.g.,
Herzog et al., 2000; Hull and Reveli, 1989), few studies have com-
pared Asian and Western cultures, and findings are not consistent
or conclusive (e.g., Nasar, 1984; Yang and Kaplan, 1990; Zhang
and Gobster, 1998). One cultural comparison study (Yu, 1995)
found that landscape preferences of a Western expert group cor-
related fairly well with well-educated urban Chinese people (such
as landscape architects and different levels of students), but did
not correlate well with those of less-educated rural Chinese such
as workers and farmers (who constitute a large part of the popu-
lation currently moving into Chinese urban areas). Because of the
current rapid rate of urbanization in China, it is becoming increas-
ingly important to understand how potentially restorative natural
landscapes such as urban parks can be utilized to enhance quality
of life in Chinese cities.
1.1. Urban nature and urban parks
In crowded cities, people are more likely to suffer from
unwanted stimulation and information overload (Herzog et al.,
1982). Currently, most major urban areas in China are rapidly
increasing in density, with associated increases in hardscape infra-
structure such as high-rise buildings and roadways (Cui and Shi,
2012; Walcott and Pannell, 2006; Ye et al., 2007). The adverse
consequences of rapid urbanization can potentially be softened
by providing opportunities for people to connect with nature
(Stigsdotter, 2012). Studies have found positive psychological and
physiological effects of urban nature on human health and well-
being (Grahn and Stigsdotter, 2003; Kaplan, 1995; Nordh and Østby,
2013; Rodiek, 2002; Tsunetsugu et al., 2013). Unlike the wilder nat-
ural landscapes found in state and national parks, the landscapes in
cities are mainly designed and built by people such as city planners
and landscape architects (Staats, 2012). As Frederick Law Olmsted
noted, scenic beauty has a powerful influence on human health
and vigor, and urban parks such as Central Park can become valu-
able outdoor resources where people of all ages can enjoy nature
in high-density environments (Lewis, 1996).
1.2. Relevant research
A substantial body of research has found that natural envi-
ronments have better restorative outcomes than human-made
urban environments. Some studies have compared forest envi-
ronments with urban sites (Hauru et al., 2012), and others have
compared natural and urban environments (Van den Berg et al.,
2014), including industrial zones, houses, urban roadways, hills,
and lakes (Purcell et al., 2001), or city centers, urban parks and
urban woodlands (Tyrväinen et al., 2014). Although these studies
suggest the stress-relieving potential of natural landscapes, there is
less differentiation among different scene types within mixed built
and natural areas, especially urban parks (Tenngart Ivarsson and
Hagerhall, 2008).
Several recent studies have addressed the relationship between
urban parks and stress restoration. In terms of sensory perception,
Grahn and Stigsdotter (2010) discussed the perceived dimen-
sions of urban parks, including serenity, space, nature, richness of
113
species, refuge, culture, prospect, and social issues. Peschardt and
Stigsdotter (2013) further tested the associations between these
dimensions and perceived restorativeness. These two studies con-
sidered the various characteristics of urban parks as complete units
in terms of their restorative quality, but did not focus on specific
landscape components within the boundaries of the urban parks.
Using different methods, several studies have addressed the
restorative potential of landscape components in urban green
spaces. Nordh et al. (2009) assessed landscape components by
rating representative photos of urban green spaces, where the com-
ponents were quantified by the percentage of the variables on the
photos. Nordh et al. (2011) used choice-based conjoint analysis to
value restorative components of small urban parks. Both studies
focused on the amount of landscape components in view, and found
natural components such as grass, trees, and shrubs were more pre-
dictive of the likelihood of restoration. Although to some extent the
landscape components of urban green spaces have been considered
in previous studies, few have analyzed these components in terms
of spatial organization within urban park areas. Even with the same
type and same amount of landscape components, spaces can be
organized in different ways, with very different results (Parsons,
1995). Because much of the restorative potential of an urban park
depends on the direct experience of the space and activities taking
place there (Bowler et al., 2010), research on landscape restora-
tiveness should consider spatial organization when comparing the
landscape components of different urban park settings.
1.3. Theoretical perspectives considered in this study
Two theoretical perspectives are especially relevant to the
positive effects of human contact with nature. The Attention
Restoration Theory (Kaplan, 1978, 1995) emphasizes the perceptive
response of humans to the natural world; restorative experiences
are concerned with how people perceive, understand and explore
the natural settings. This theory maintains that environments with
the characteristics of ‘being away,’ ‘fascination,’ ‘extent’ and ‘com-
patibility’ are more likely to stimulate people’s indirect attention,
and potentially reduce stress (Kaplan and Kaplan, 1989; Hartig
et al., 1991). From a different perspective, the Psycho-evolutionary
Theory by Ulrich holds that viewing natural scenes is important
for positive shifts in emotional states and mitigation of the dele-
terious effects of physiological mobilization (Ulrich et al., 1991;
Ulrich, 1993). This perspective proposes that human restorative
responses to natural environments occur directly, often within
minutes (Ulrich, 1983). Empirical studies have measured emotional
and physiological changes from viewing natural environments
(Bowler et al., 2010; Haluza et al., 2014), such as reduced blood
pressure (Lee et al., 2009), reduced muscle tension (Chang et al.,
2008), lowered heart rates (Laumann et al., 2003; Ottosson and
Grahn, 2005), and decreased salivary cortisol level (Lee et al., 2011).
The study reported here was influenced by both of these different
theoretical perspectives: the selection of landscape characteris-
tics was informed by aspects of the Attention Restoration Theory,
while biological measures were used to measure direct restorative
responses.
1.4. Significance of this study
Urban parks can be described as human-made environments
with components from nature such as trees, shrubs, lawns, and
flowers. Several previous studies on the restorative potential of
landscape components from urban green space have provided
psychological evidence for increasing the amount or percentage
of natural elements in urban areas (Nordh et al., 2009, 2011;
White et al., 2010). However, because few studies have analyzed
how specific landscape features and space configurations within
114 X. Wang et al. / Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 15 (2016) 112–122

urban parks can influence human health and well-being in Chinese

settings, it is difficult to apply previous research directly in inter-
national design practice. As global populations increase steadily in
urban areas, land is in short supply to build new urban parks. There-
fore, enhancing the restorative efficiency of existing urban parks
can be a feasible way to satisfy the stress recovery needs of growing
urban populations. By focusing on specific landscape components
and configurations, this study will add to the information needed
to design restorative urban parks in Chinese cultural settings.

1.5. Environmental conditions addressed in the study

Nature-based vs. hardscape components. The landscape ele-

ments in urban parks can be classified into two broad categories: Fig. 1. Lawn without people (Open Space).
nature-based components and hardscape components. Nature-
based components include plant materials such as trees, shrubs,
2. Materials and methods
flowers and grasses (Booth, 1983), and various kinds of water,
such as lakes, ponds, fountains, rivers and streams (Nasar and Lin,
2.1. The environments
2003). Hardscape components refer to nonliving features made by
humans, including paved surfaces such as plazas, pathways, and
Urban parks in Shanghai are typically part of the city green
platforms and structures such as pavilions, corridors and walls
space system. There were 76 urban parks found in the high-density,
(Davitt, 2006). An urban roadway scene was also included in the
established districts of Shanghai (i.e., all those that were not part of
study, to contrast with the urban park scenes.
recent urban sprawl over the past twenty years, as identified by city
Presence/absence of people. The same physical environment
park officials). All 76 parks in this sampling frame were examined
will likely be perceived differently, and have different restorative
and catalogued before choosing the representative site for each
effects, based on the presence or absence of people in the space
scene. Two types of urban parks were found in these districts: 14
(Todd, 1985; Staats, 2012). These effects may depend partly on
municipal-level urban parks, which were large and served people
whether people appear in a scene that is predominantly nature-
throughout the city (average area 19.39 ha); and 62 district-level
based or hardscape-based. To further investigate the characteristics
urban parks which were relatively small and mainly served people
of different landscape components and their restorative potential,
in the nearby neighborhood (average area 2.85 ha). Photos of poten-
this study examined the influence of presence/absence of people in
tial sites were taken on sunny days, and were classified by the park’s
the scenes of Lawn and Plaza.
level and size. After a first round of selection, we found that urban
Degree of openness. In urban parks, the degree of openness is an
parks at the municipal level were typically abundant in different
important consideration. According to Appleton’s Prospect-Refuge
kinds of natural settings; as scenes for comparison, they appeared
Theory (1975), humans prefer environments that provide oppor-
more suitable than district-level parks, because they were all in
tunities for prospect and overview, while also providing enclosed
good maintenance and had similarities in visual quality. There-
spaces for a sense of refuge. Open space and enclosed space are
fore, the study sites were all chosen from municipal-level urban
often used by design practitioners for contrast in outdoor environ-
parks; specific scenes were selected according to how well they
ments. When developing a natural setting with a high degree of
represented the landscape characteristics proposed by the Atten-
openness, landscape components such as lawns, lakes, and plazas
tion Restoration Theory (Kaplan, 1978; Kaplan and Kaplan, 1989)
are commonly used to create level open areas (Feng, 1979), while
and their relative degree of openness. The locations of the urban
plant materials such as shrubs and trees are commonly used to
parks, their management, and whether water could be retained
create a sense of enclosure. Pedestrian walkways are also common
during spring and early summer were also taken into consideration,
features in urban parks. A walkway with shrubs and trees on both
to make sure videotaping could be conducted in a satisfactory way.
sides can be viewed as a type of semi-enclosed space, which par-
These sites were further evaluated by officers from the Bureau of
tially blocks people’s view and provides a feeling of privacy. In this
Parks and Woods in Shanghai, together with professors from Tongji
study, videos showing open spaces with lawns, lakes and plazas
University, to determine whether the sites effectively represented
having similar degrees of openness were compared with a video
the hypothesized landscape components.
showing a semi-enclosed walkway.
The Lawn chosen for the study was from Zhongshan Park, as it
was flat, regular in shape, and provided an open view framed by
1.6. Overview of the study trees and shrubs (Figs. 1 and 2). The openness of the Lawn scene
was 50–80 m of sight distance. The Plaza scene was chosen from
This study compared six urban park scenes and one urban road- Heping Park (Figs. 3 and 4), and had 50–60 m of sight distance. The
way scene, to explore the stress recovery and restorative effects of Small Lake scene was chosen from the Yanzhong Greenbelt (Fig. 5),
scenes with different components controlled for levels of open- where water was retained all year, maintaining the visual quality
ness and presence/absence of people. It was hypothesized that of the water. The openness of the Small Lake was 40–90 m of sight
nature-based components would be more effective than hardscape distance. The Walkway scene (Fig. 6), chosen from Chengfeng Park,
components in stress recovery. Although hardscape settings like was 1 m wide surrounded by trees and shrubs, with an openness
the urban roadway scene, completely devoid of nature elements, of 2–5 m of sight distance, to represent a semi-enclosed space in
have already been found in many studies to be non-restorative, urban parks.
it was included in this study because this phenomenon has been An Urban Roadway scene (Fig. 7) from Chengdu Road was cho-
inadequately studied in China, even though it is an increasingly sen to make a contrast with the scenes from urban parks. This
common urban scene. No hypothesis was formed regarding the roadway was wide enough to have a similar degree of openness as
effects of the presence or absence of people, but it was expected the open space scenes used in this study. Although this road was not
to have an impact on restoration. designed for recreational usage by pedestrians (as were the urban
 X. Wang et al. / Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 15 (2016) 112–122 115

Fig. 2. Lawn with people (Open Space). Fig. 6. Walkway without people (Semi-enclosed).

Fig. 7. Urban Roadway (Contrast).

Fig. 3. Plaza without people (Open Space).

parks shown), in a high density Chinese city such as Shanghai, such

scenes are very common, and pedestrians often have to walk along
and across similar roads with heavy, high-speed traffic to reach
their destination; in addition, this type of road is commonly viewed
by residents of nearby high-rise buildings.
Previous landscape studies have used videotapes instead of still
images, to capture additional environmental attributes such as
acoustic qualities (Karmanov and Hamel, 2008; Jiang et al., 2014;
Valtchanov et al., 2010). Using the approach of Karmanov and
Hamel (2008), and Ulrich et al. (1991), the selected scenes were
videotaped; a Sony Nex-5N camera simultaneously recorded video
audio and visual images. Each site was videotaped on sunny days in
April and May 2014, with the camera placed at the edge of the scene
on a tripod, to ensure stability. The viewpoint height was 1.60 m on
a level, horizontal sight line. The camera lens was constantly mov-
ing at a slow, steady speed from one side to the other, to give a
Fig. 4. Plaza with people (Open Space).
full view of the scene. Consent was obtained from people when
taping scenes which included people. The videos were recorded at
several different locations around the edge of each site, and were
finally combined into one short color video of eight minutes for each
site. The eight-minute video length was based on previous studies
that found physiological and psychological effects in comparable
short time frames ranging from two to ten minutes (Chang et al.,
2008; Jiang et al., 2014; Ulrich et al., 1991). During pre-testing, some
subjects began to show impatience at ten minutes, but most were
able to watch an eight-minute video without becoming noticeably
impatient.

2.2. The participants

This project was sponsored by the College of Architecture

and Urban Planning, Tongji University, and informed consent was
Fig. 5. Small Lake without people (Open Space). obtained from all participants. The university Student Union pub-
licized this experiment with posters and announcements, and
116 X. Wang et al. / Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 15 (2016) 112–122
established a social network discussion group, to reach as many
potential participants as possible. Altogether, 140 undergraduate
and graduate students of 18–24 years old (M = 22.38, S.D. = 2.56)
from Tongji University participated in this experiment. Because this
is a public university, students from several regions were included
in the sampling frame, with over 90% coming from urban areas
outside Shanghai. Students from a wide range of disciplines (16 dif-
ferent colleges) participated; all had been at the university at least
two semesters. Basic information such as age, gender, and health
condition was collected when making appointments with the par-
ticipants; those with heart disease or with a diagnosis of irregular
heart beat were excluded. Subjects were randomly assigned (50%
male, 50% female) to watch one of the seven video scenes, with
twenty subjects watching each scene.
2.3. Stress induction
An eight-minute timed mock spoken-English exam was used
to stress the subjects, all of whom who spoke English as a for-
eign language. Previous studies have used exams to induce stress
(Karmanov and Hamel, 2008), and several studies have found that
students commonly experienced anxiety when speaking English
or other foreign languages (Salehi and Marefat, 2014; von Wörde,
2003). The exam was administered by computer, and subjects had
to follow the instructions of the examiner, who spoke only in
English.
2.4. Measures of stress level
2.4.1. Physiological indexes
Skin Conductance Response (SCR): Skin conductance is often
used as a measure of stress, with higher conductance indicating
higher stress levels (usually associated with increased perspira-
tion). For this study, a wireless device (Biopac MP150) was used.
Subjects wore a special shirt with the transmitter attached, so they
were free to move their bodies during the experiment. After clean-
ing the skin with a cotton ball soaked in alcohol, short wire leads
were connected to electrodes attached to the skin. There were two
short wire leads connected to the subjects to obtain the SCR sig-
nals: one was to the electrode on the pad of the index finger, and
the other was to the electrode on the pad of the middle finger. The
device was calibrated before connecting the lead to the index finger.
R–R interval: This study used electrocardiography, which
produces an electrocardiogram (ECG), which is a graphic tracing of
the electrical activity of the heart. The R–R interval is the duration
between two consecutive “R” waves, showing the heartbeat, and
can be calculated from the ECG. The R–R interval is longer when the
heart rate is slower, and shorter when the heart rate is faster, which
may indicate increased stimulation or stress. There were three leads
connected to the subjects to obtain the ECG signals.
2.4.2. Psychological indexes
Health Status: The questionnaire consisted of five questions
concisely summarizing some of the main information collected on
the RAND-36 Health Survey (Ware and Sherbourne, 1992). Using
a five-point Likert-type response set, the questionnaire asked sub-
jects to rate their current general health condition and how often
they suffered from physical illness. It also asked how often they had
emotional problems, and whether these negatively affected their
studies, work, or interpersonal relationships (e.g., “How much did
your emotional problems interfere with your normal social activi-
ties?” Not at all, Slightly, Moderately, Severely, Very severely).
State Anxiety: The data from ECG and SCR can measure the
changing emotions of the subjects, but cannot distinguish between
the subtle emotions such as anger, excitement or anxiety, all
of which can lead to raised heart rates. In this experiment, the
subjects mostly felt anxious during the mock exam, so to detect
the level of stress, we used the state version of the State Trait Anx-
iety Inventory (STAI-S) (Spielberger, 1972; Spielberger et al., 1979,
1983).
Attention: Natural environments have been found to reduce
stress and restore attentional capacity; though the effects of stress
reduction and attention restoration have some commonalities and
can be seen as a synthesized outcome, they relate to different the-
ories: stress reduction theory, and attention restoration theory. In
this study, the Digit Span Backwards (DSB) test (Wechsler, 1955)
was used to evaluate the attentional level of the subjects, by asking
them to accurately recall a series of numbers.
Restorativeness and Experience: The Perceived Restorativeness
Scale (PRS) has been widely used as an instrument for measur-
ing the restorative quality of physical environments (Hartig et al.,
1997; Hauru et al., 2012; Peschardt and Stigsdotter, 2013). The ver-
sion of the PRS used in the present study was developed by Hartig
et al. (1997); while multiple versions of this scale have been devel-
oped, the scale used in this study consisted of 26 items, using a
seven-point rating system. A recent study using a 23-item Chinese
version of this scale was found to be adequately reliable, with Cron-
bach’s alpha of >0.769–0.936 (Ye et al., 2010). Because way finding
or orientation was not considered an essential dimension of this
study, the last four items on “legibility” of the PRS scale were not
used. The scale was used for evaluating subjects’ restorative expe-
riences, with five items evaluated for “being away;” eight items
for “fascination;” four items for “coherence;” and five items for
“compatibility.” Each item was evaluated with a 7-point scale from
1 = Not at all to 7 = Completely. The scores of items that indicated
negative experiences were reversed before conducting the analysis.
2.4.3. The procedure
As shown in Fig. 8, subjects arrived at the lab and received
an information sheet which explained the goals and specific
procedures of the experiment. After a subject filled in the
basic information and health status and signed the agreement,
researchers connected the electrodes and sensors to the subject,
while he or she was sitting in a chair with a back. The subjects
had two minutes to adjust to the device before the baselines of
ECG and SCR were recorded. Subjects were asked to sit and rest
for three minutes while recording the baselines. All parts of the
intervention stimuli during stress and recovery stages were deliv-
ered in video mode on a 19-in computer monitor, with audio
accompaniment. The audio speakers used were large, high-quality,
wood-encased bookshelf speakers (Edifier R1000TC 2.0), and were
tested for adequate clarity before conducting the study. The stressor
“mock spoken English exam” was displayed on the monitor, and
lasted eight minutes. Afterward, the video guided the subjects to do
the DSB to test their attentional level; this took about three minutes.
The stress stage was followed by the eight-minute recovery stage,
during which each subject watched one of the scene videos. During
the stress and recovery stages, the ECG and SCR were recorded con-
tinually. When the stress-reducing (recovery) stage was finished,
the subjects did the DSB task again. They also did the PRS test and
both STAI-S tests, to indicate what their feelings were before and
after watching the video.
2.5. Data analysis
The mean SCR values and the mean R–R interval values during
stress and recovery periods were derived from the recorded sig-
nals by the data acquisition program AcqKnowledge. R–R interval
values, STAI-S values, and PRS overall and subscale values were ana-
lyzed using Univariate ANOVA, followed by the Tukey test as a post
hoc test if the effects of between-subjects were significant. As the
SCR values didn’t follow normal distributions, the Mann–Whitney
 X. Wang et al. / Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 15 (2016) 112–122
Fig. 8. Timeline (in minutes) of the protocol followed during the experiment.
U test and Kruskal–Wallis (K–W) test were used in the analyses.
Paired sample t-tests were conducted in comparing scores of DSB
before and after the recovery stage. Internal reliability of the PRS
overall and subscales was analyzed with Cronbach’s alpha. The level
of significance was set at p < 0.05. The statistical analysis was com-
pleted in IBM SPSS Statistics 19.
3. Results
3.1. Health status of subjects
In this study, about 94% of male and 96% of female subjects rated
their overall health status as “good” or “fairly good.” None of the
subjects reported suffering from physical problems “most of the
time,” and only 11% reported having them “sometimes.” In contrast,
emotional problems such as feeling stressed or depressed were
more common, with 40% of subjects reporting that they suffered
from them “most of the time” or “sometimes.” Fourteen percent
of subjects reported that emotional problems had a major negative
influence on their “study or work” as well as on their “interpersonal
communications” (10%).
3.2. Tests for the effects of different sites on stress recovery
3.2.1. SCR values
In measuring stress recovery across different scenes, a
Kruskal–Wallis (K–W) test showed significant differences in
changes of SCR (2 (6) = 22.379, p = 0.001, 2 = 0.16). As shown in
Table 1, when comparing the mean rank scores, the SCR-reducing
value was highest by watching Lawn w/people (84.20), followed
by Lawn w/o people (83.50), Small Lake (79.20), Walkway (79.15),
Plaza w/o people (74.15) and Plaza w/people (56.20), while the SCR-
reducing value was lowest by watching Urban Roadway (37.10).
Post-hoc pairwise comparisons using the K–W test confirmed
that, compared with viewing the Urban Roadway, subjects’ mean
SCR values were significantly reduced by viewing Lawn w/people
(p = 0.005), Lawn w/o people (p = 0.006), Small Lake (p = 0.022) and
Walkway (p = 0.022); and mildly but non-significantly reduced by
Table 1
Changes in skin conductance response (SCR) and inter-beat (R–R) intervals from stress stage to recovery stage.
Sites viewed SCR
Mean reduction in SCR (␮S)
Lawn w/people 3.126**
Lawn w/o people 2.671**
Plaza w/people 1.664
Plaza w/o people 2.550
Small Lake 2.869*
Walkway 2.650*
Urban Roadway 0.765
Significant difference compared with Urban Roadway (N = 20).
*
p < 0.05.
**
p ≤ 0.01.
117
viewing Plaza w/o people (p = 0.081). Changes in skin conductance
(SCR) from the stress to recovery stage did not show significant
gender differences when tested with the Mann–Whitney U test
(p = 0.063).
3.2.2. R–R intervals
Changes in stress were measured by electrocardiogram, with
longer intervals between “R” waves (R–R interval) indicating
reduced stress. From stress to recovery stage, all subjects showed a
lengthening of the R–R intervals. The effects of gender and sites on
the length of R–R intervals were examined with a two-way ANOVA.
There was no significant gender effect or interaction between the
effects of gender and sites on changes in the length of R–R intervals.
The effect of viewing different sites on length of R–R intervals was
significant in the hypothesized direction (F(6, 126) = 2.499, p = 0.026,
2 = 0.10). As shown in Table 1, a Tukey post-hoc test revealed that
changes in the length of R–R intervals increased significantly more
after viewing the Walkway (0.125 ± 0.06 s, p = 0.010) and Small
Lake (0.116 ± 0.06 s, p = 0.047), compared to viewing the Urban
Roadway (0.063 ± 0.06 s).
3.3. Testing for the state of attention before and after video
watching
The changes in attentional level of the subjects from the stress
stage to the recovery stage were measured with the Digit Span
Backwards (DSB) test. All scenes (including Urban Roadway) were
accompanied by a positive effect on subjects’ attentional lev-
els. The ‘mean differences’ shown in Table 2 indicate how many
more numbers (digits) subjects were able to accurately recall
after watching the videotaped scenes. A series of paired sample
t tests were conducted to evaluate the extent of the improve-
ments in attentional level. As presented in Table 2, participants’
attentional levels improved significantly after watching the Lawn
w/people (p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 1.09), Lawn w/o people (p = 0.001,
Cohen’s d = 0.97), Plaza w/o people (p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 1.17),
Small Lake (p = 0.007, Cohen’s d = 0.58) and Walkway (p = 0.001,
Cohen’s d = 0.73). However, no significant attentional improvement
R–R intervals
S.D. Mean increase in R–R intervals (s) S.D.
2.27 0.100 0.05
1.35 0.101 0.05
2.68 0.110 0.06
2.30 0.101 0.06
2.44 0.116* 0.06
1.92 0.125** 0.04
0.99 0.063 0.06
118 X. Wang et al. / Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 15 (2016) 112–122

Table 2
Paired t test results for the changes in attentional level before and after videotaped scene watching using Digit Span Backwards test (DSB).

Sites Mean difference in number SEM 95% C.I. t p

of digits remembered

Lower Upper
***
Lawn w/people 1.60 0.34 0.90 2.30 4.77 <0.001
Lawn w/o people 1.55** 0.41 0.70 2.40 3.80 0.001
Plaza w/people 0.75 0.42 −0.13 1.63 1.78 0.092
Plaza w/o people 1.85*** 0.43 0.95 2.75 4.29 <0.001
Small Lake 0.85** 0.28 0.26 1.44 2.30 <0.01
Walkway 0.95** 0.33 0.26 1.64 2.89 <0.01
Urban Roadway 0.70 0.34 −0.01 1.41 2.05 0.054

N = 20 for each scene.

*
p < 0.05.
**
p ≤ 0.01.
***
p < 0.001.

was found after watching the scenes of Urban Roadway (p > 0.05)
or Plaza w/people (p > 0.05). The effect sizes, shown by Cohen’s
d, where 0.5 is a medium effect, and 0.8 is a large effect (Cohen,
1988), suggest substantial improvements in attentional levels after
watching five of the seven videos.
3.4. Testing for changes in state anxiety between different videos
of site watching
The state version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S)
was used to measure changes in short-term anxiety before and after
watching videotaped scenes. The pre-post differences shown in
Fig. 9 reveal that all six urban park scenes had a significant positive
effect on state-anxiety relief, compared with the Urban Roadway
scene (F(6 , 133) = 11.59, p < 0.001, 2 = 0.31), which had a negative
influence on state-anxiety. No significant differences were found in
levels of anxiety relief associated with different urban park scenes.
The mean difference of reduced state-anxiety between Lawn w/o
people and Plaza w/o people was 7.50 (p = 0.468); between Lawn
w/people and Plaza w/people was 4.50 (p = 0.910). Although p-
values did not reach significance, these results suggest that viewing
the open Lawn better reduced state-anxiety than viewing the open
Plaza, whether depicted with or without people.
3.5. Assessing the perceived restorativeness of different urban
park sites
3.5.1. Reliability
Results of the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS) showed
that most subscales had good reliability among participants, with
Cronbach’s ˛ ranging from 0.80 to 0.91. The “coherence” sub-
scale had lower but acceptable reliability scores for Walkway
(Cron.˛ = 0.73) and Plaza w/o people (Cron.˛ = 0.72).
3.5.2. Overall PRS
The overall perceived restorativeness results showed signifi-
cant differences among the seven scenes (F(6 , 133) = 25.68, p < 0.001,
2 = 0.54). As shown in Tables 3 and 4, a Tukey post-hoc test
revealed that all six urban park scenes were perceived as more
restorative than the Urban Roadway scene (p < 0.001). Of the
urban park scenes, the restorative potential was significantly
higher in Lawn w/o people (4.96 ± 0.75, p = 0.001) and Small Lake
(4.95 ± 0.66, p = 0.001), compared to Plaza w/people (3.95 ± 0.83)
and Plaza w/o people (3.96 ± 0.83), indicating nature-based com-
ponents restored attention better than hardscape components. The
perceived restorativeness of the Lawn w/people scene (3.95 ± 0.83)
was also higher than the Plaza w/people scene (p = 0.106), though
this finding did not reach significance.
3.5.3. Subscale scores
To detect the different characteristics of urban park scenes in
stress restoration, scores at the subscale level were calculated and
analyzed (Table 3). For the subscale “being away” (F(6, 133) = 22.92,
p < 0.001, 2 = 0.51), the scene of Lawn w/o people was signifi-
cantly higher than Plaza w/people (p = 0.036) or Plaza w/o people
(p = 0.001). For the same subscale, Lawn w/people (p = 0.005) and
Small Lake (p = 0.001) were rated significantly higher than Plaza
w/people. For the subscale “fascination” (F(6, 133) = 14.25, p < 0.001,
2 = 0.39), the scenes of Lawn w/people and Small Lake had a
higher perceived restorativeness. For the same subscale, Lawn

Fig. 9. Mean differences and standard deviations of the changes in state anxiety using the state part of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S), where the values indicate
the extent to which different videos relieved anxiety. p-Values show pairwise comparisons of each site condition, contrasted with Urban Roadway (N = 20): *** p < 0.001.
 X. Wang et al. / Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 15 (2016) 112–122 119

Table 3
Means and standard deviations for overall Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS) value and the four subscales of sites in urban parks.

Videotaped scenes Overall PRS (perceived Subscales

restorativeness)
Being away Fascination Coherence Compatibility

Mean (S.D.) Mean (S.D.) Mean (S.D.) Mean (S.D.) Mean (S.D.)

Lawn w/people 4.63 (0.76) 5.34 (0.95) 4.81 (0.99) 4.21 (1.37) 4.15 (1.12)
Lawn w/o people 4.96 (0.75) 5.52 (0.77) 4.30 (1.06) 5.34 (0.96) 4.67 (1.12)
Plaza w/people 3.95 (0.83) 4.58 (1.02) 3.56 (1.02) 4.50 (1.32) 3.17 (1.09)
Plaza w/o people 3.96 (0.83) 4.19 (1.20) 3.61 (0.90) 4.74 (1.02) 3.29 (1.10)
Small Lake 4.95 (0.66) 5.47 (0.76) 4.59 (0.94) 5.09 (1.07) 4.64 (1.01)
Walkway 4.49 (0.64) 5.03 (1.13) 4.09 (0.97) 4.84 (0.92) 3.99 (0.93)
Urban Roadway 2.07 (0.52) 1.83 (0.87) 2.20 (0.92) 2.62 (0.95) 1.65 (0.74)

PRS based on 7-point scale, where lower values indicate lower levels of restorative experience. N = 20 for each scene.

Table 4
Comparison of Overall PRS for different videotaped scenes.

Mean difference Lawn w/people Lawn w/o people Plaza w/people Plaza w/o people Small Lake Walkway Urban Roadway

Lawn w/people — −0.33 0.68 0.67 −0.32 0.14 2.24***

Lawn w/o people — 1.01** 1.00** 0.01 0.47 2.57***
Plaza w/people — −0.01 −1.00** −0.53 1.57***
Plaza w/o people — −0.99** −0.53 1.57***
Small Lake — 0.46 2.56***
Walkway — 2.10***
Urban Roadway —

N = 20 for each scene.

*
p < 0.05.
**
p ≤ 0.01.
***
p < 0.001.

w/people was higher rated than Plaza w/people (p = 0.001) or
Plaza w/o people (p = 0.003); the Small Lake was higher rated
than Plaza w/people (p = 0.014) or Plaza w/o people (p = 0.024). For
the subscale “coherence” (F(6, 133) = 13.41, p = 0.30, 2 = 0.32), Lawn
w/o people was rated higher than Lawn w/people (p = 0.024), but
no significant difference was found between Plaza w/people and
Plaza w/o people. For the subscale “compatibility” (F(6, 133) = 15.45,
p < 0.001, 2 = 0.41), the scene of Lawn w/people was rated signifi-
cantly higher than Plaza w/people (p = 0.049), and the scene of Lawn
w/o people was rated significantly higher than Plaza w/people
(p < 0.001) or Plaza w/o people (p = 0.001).
4. Discussion
4.1. Different components in urban parks
This study investigated the stress recovery and restorative
effects of urban park scenes. Compared with the Urban Road-
way scene, urban park scenes significantly reduced subjects’ stress,
improved their attentional level, and were rated high in perceived
restorativeness, which generally agreed with previous research
(Hartig et al., 2003; Tsunetsugu et al., 2013). In addition, it was
noted that nature-based components had better stress recovery
outcomes than hardscape components.
The results from physiological and psychological measures both
indicated that the Small Lake and Lawn scenes (nature-based) were
more effective in stress reduction than the Plaza scene (hardscape),
even though they all had similar degrees of openness. For exam-
ple, the SCR-reducing value of Lawn w/people was nearly twice
as much as Plaza w/people (3.13 compared to 1.66). Similarly, the
DSB score was improved twice as much by watching the scene of
Lawn w/people, compared with the scene of Plaza w/people (1.6
compared to 0.75). Likewise, the PRS ratings indicated that the
Small Lake and Lawn w/o people were potentially more restor-
ative than the Plaza w/o people. Generally, the findings from this
study support previous research and theory suggesting that con-
tact with nature-based components can lead to perceived stress
recovery, enhanced attentional restoration and positive physiolog-
ical responses in the body’s nervous system (Kaplan, 1978, 1995;
Ulrich, 1993).
4.2. Scenes with or without people
The Plaza w/people and Plaza w/o people showed no difference
in perceived restorativeness (PRS). Comparing Lawn w/o people
and Lawn w/people, this study found a slightly higher overall PRS
rating for the scene without people. Moreover, at the PRS subscale
level, the Lawn w/o people scored higher on the factors “being
away”, “coherence” and “compatibility,” indicating nature-based
components such as lawns might be more restorative in the absence
of people. For the subscale “coherence,” the score for Lawn w/o peo-
ple was even higher, reaching a significance level of p = 0.024. These
findings suggest that nature-based scenes without people are more
likely to restore attentional capacity and reduce mental fatigue.
This supports previous research suggesting that people tend to gain
a state of increased tranquility and lowered stress when alone or
in a small group in a natural environment (Hammitt and Brown,
1984; Hammitt and Madden, 1989; Scopelliti and Giuliani, 2006).
The only PRS subscale that scored higher for Lawn w/people was
“fascination;” this might have been due to people moving in the
video scene, and attracting the attention of viewers.
From both physiological and psychological perspectives, this
Chinese study confirmed previous western studies which found the
visible amounts of natural landscape components (such as lawns)
were most predictive of restoration (Nordh et al., 2009, 2011),
and natural scenes containing water had higher perceived restora-
tiveness than those without water features (White et al., 2010). A
web-based survey conducted in Oslo, Norway (Nordh et al., 2011)
noted that people preferred “a few other people” in small urban
parks, rather than “no people” or “many people.” The finding was
120 X. Wang et al. / Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 15 (2016) 112–122
generally similar to our finding that nature-based scenes without
people were rated higher than those with people, though there may
be a different cultural perspective on how many people are ‘too
many’ in different settings.
4.3. Limitations and further research
As only one semi-enclosed scene (Walkway) was included in this
study, the difference in restorative effects between open and semi-
enclosed space could not be fully explored, and gender differences
could not be detected. Future research could be designed to include
a systematically-varied range of scenes with different degrees of
openness. This may be especially important to investigate in terms
of gender-related preferences for level of enclosure in public spaces
(Kudielka et al., 2004; Gatersleben and Andrews, 2013).
Because of the limited sample size, only the Lawn and Plaza
scenes were tested with the absence/presence of people. Future
research could explore the influence of viewing people across more
types of urban park settings.
To further detect differences in stress recovery across differ-
ent groups of people, future studies could include more diverse
populations, as recommended by Cacioppo et al. (2000). Because all
subjects were in the same age range, age-related differences could
not be tested. Future studies should include people of different ages,
especially older adults with reduced functional abilities that dif-
fer greatly from the age group tested here (Hung and Crompton,
2006). As university students, the subjects were fairly homoge-
nous in terms of educational background. Because Yu (1995) found
marked differences in landscape preference among different edu-
cational levels, future studies should include people from a broad
range of educational backgrounds.
Although the students were from different disciplines, and
over 90% came from urban areas outside Shanghai, they were
not selected for ethnic, sub-cultural, or socioeconomic diversity.
Because of the wide ethnic and cultural variation in different
regions of China, and the economic disparities between rural and
urban regions, future studies should include people from diverse
ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The recent trend
of rural Chinese moving to urban areas emphasizes the importance
of studying the landscape preferences and nature-related stress
recovery potential of different groups. For example, roadway vs.
natural scenes would be especially interesting to test, as Yu (1995)
found greater acceptance of “novelty and modernity” among rural
subjects, who were less familiar with urban settings.
In the current study, we used videotaped scenes as stimuli.
Compared with direct experience of a site, this method has the
advantage of controlling extraneous conditions such as passersby.
However, subjects may not be fully engaged in landscape scenes
merely by watching a video. Future studies could be designed to
take subjects to the sites, especially when the research purpose is to
investigate the restorative outcomes gained from direct experience
(Koura et al., 2006), such as physical activity and social interaction.
5. Conclusions
As a vital component of urban green space systems, urban parks
provide valuable opportunities for people to improve their phys-
ical health and psychological well-being. This study found that
different landscape components in urban parks may potentially
have different effects on stress reduction and attention restoration,
when tested in Chinese settings. Specifically, the findings sug-
gest that higher amounts of nature-based elements, and reduced
numbers (or lower densities) of people may increase the restor-
ative potential of urban parks. These findings provide an incentive
to take people’s health needs into account when planning urban
development, including traffic infrastructure and green space sys-
tems. The findings can also help landscape architects design more
effective landscape components in urban parks. Overall, incorpo-
rating this information can potentially lead to improved planning
for future urban development and urban green spaces in China, and
in other areas with substantial Chinese subcultures.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foun-
dation of China, as part of the project “Research on Codes and
Standards of Recreation Planning and Design Based on Landscape
Architecture” (No. 51278347). This work was also supported by the
Lab of Interior Architecture and Information Systems, College of
Architecture and Urban Planning at Tongji University, Shanghai,
China. Special thanks to Dr. Xuemei Zhu, Center for Health Systems
& Design at Texas A&M University, and Dr. Haihong Wang, School
of Medicine at Tongji University.
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