An Experimental Eye-Movement Study on the Spatial Attraction Characteristics and Perception of Different Landscape Types in Ethnic Villages
Publication: Journal of Urban Planning and Development
Volume 149, Issue 4
Abstract
People’s understanding and perceptions of landscapes are closely related to their observational behavior. Therefore, understanding human observation behavior is necessary for landscape planning research. In this study, we used eye-tracking technology to analyze the visual perceptual behavior of our subjects. This study aimed to explore the relationship of different elements of landscape attractiveness in the local environment of Taoping Qiang village in Li County, Sichuan, with the protection and quality improvement of the local landscape. Therefore, we asked 39 subjects to wear an eye-movement instrument (Tobii Glasses Pro2) to randomly view 20 real-life photographs of the field inside ethnic villages using a video, after which they were interviewed with questionnaires and asked to draw areas of interest from the photographs. Comparison of the data indicated that: (1) in the traditional ethnic village environment, the cultural elements of the village, such as doors and windows, architectural structure, and building skins of the watchtowers, religious buildings, and so forth, were more attractive to the subjects; (2) given the impact of different landscape features on the observation patterns of eye movement, there were similarities and differences between the subjects’ hand-drawn data and their eye-movement data in terms of the degree of attention paid to the attractive features of the landscape; and (3) the difference in attention was not only due to the external characteristics of the landscape, but also the inherent culture embedded in the landscape space and the subjective resonance of people’s perceptions. Analysis leads to the suggestion that features of different landscape elements should be considered in the design and upgrading of landscape in ethnic villages. This study is useful for understanding the landscape attractiveness of traditional ethnic villages and is a practical guide for the protection, display, and utilization of the value of landscape in ethnic villages.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the 40 volunteers who participated in our study. This research was supported by the China National Natural Science Foundation: Theory and Method of the Ecological Planning of Urban and Rural Landscape with Locality for Livability (No. 52130804); China National Natural Science Foundation: Landscape Perception Mechanism and Tourism Incentive Planning Mode of Traditional Village (No. 51878460).
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Published In
Journal of Urban Planning and Development
Volume 149 • Issue 4 • December 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 15, 2022
Accepted: Jun 26, 2023
Published online: Aug 29, 2023
Published in print: Dec 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Jan 29, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Building materials
- Buildings
- Business management
- Comparative studies
- Computer vision and image processing
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering materials (by type)
- Facilities (by type)
- Glass
- Human and behavioral factors
- Infrastructure
- Landscaping
- Materials engineering
- Methodology (by type)
- Photography
- Practice and Profession
- Religious buildings
- Research methods (by type)
- Structural engineering
- Structural members
- Structural systems
- Structures (by type)
- Urban and regional development
- Urban areas
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