landscape has the potential to serve as a resource for people’s health-promoting activities in three aspects: mentally, physically and socially. The promotion of mental well-being is based on attention restoration, stress reduction, and the evocation of positive emotion; physical well-being through the promotion of physical activity in daily life, leisure time and walkable environment; and social well-being through social integration, social engagement and participation, social support and security.

The result of the study might be used as a basis of specific research projects and interventions that address landscape as a health resource.

 

MENTAL WELL-BEING—landscape as a restorative

  1. Cognitive attention restoration (Kaplan and Kaplan, 1989)

Restorative environment enable people to get some distance from their daily life.

Attract people’s attention without being exhausting

Enable constant discovery of new things, compatible with already existing environment.

In line with the intention of their users, enable users to do what they want to do

  2. Natural landscape is more restorative than urban one.

Walks in natural landscape have a stronger effect on the ability to concentrate than urban walks.(Hartig et al.,2003)

People prefer natural landscape such as beaches, water, forest, parks, and mountains for recovery from mental fatigue.(Korpela and Hartig, 1996)

Public open spaces for public entertainment and sports have less restorative potential than natural setting.(Herzog et al., 1997)

Visual confrontation with picture of natural landscape had a restorative effect on mental fatigue by students (Berto, 2005)

Low sound levels for rest and relaxation: green areas can reduce noise annoyance and relax people (Gidlof-Gunnarsson and Ohrstrom, 2007)

  3. Stress reduction

People unconsciously released emotional reactions looking at natural landscape. This is significant for stress recovery.(Ulrich et al., 1991)

Negative feeling and thought can be replaced by positive feeling like interest, cheerfulness and calmness while looking at landscape, particularly the one contains visual stimuli and richness of natural element. (Hartig et al., 1996)

  4. Natural landscape promote people’s ability to express positive feelings.(Hartig et al.1991)

Open and accessible forests are suggested to enhance positive emotions more than dense and less accessible forest. (Milligan and Bingley, 2007; Staats et al. 1997)

Higher frustration tolerance, lower crime rates and feeling of safety are associated with landscape conditions.

 

PHYSICAL WELL-BEING---walkable landscape

  1. The way landscape and environment is designed and built is crucial for the level of physical activity in daily life, work and leisure time.(Frumkin et al.,2004; Humpel et al.2004a,b; McCormack et al., 2004; Powell, 2005)

    Access to destinations, the presence of physical activity-promoting facilities and the general functionality of urban districts are considered as aspects of landscape promote and enable physical activity.(Pikora et al., 2003,2005)

    Constructional conditions are bicycle and walking paths for better walkability, land-use-mix, street connectivity, traffic safety and an aesthetically appealing landscape.

    Location and infrastructure, safety aspects, absence of traffic play an important role in physical activity in leisure time.(Ball et al.2001; Booth et al.,2000)

    People gain additional motivation for regular activity when they trust their neighbors, perceive their neighbors as active, and have the opportunity to use nearby sport fields.

  2. It is important to make space for health-promoting physical activities as user friendly as possible.

Rural green landscapes must be aesthetically appealing to the users.

 

SOCIAL WELL-BEING--- landscape as a bonding structure.

  1. Urban parks and other public places can enhance social integration.

Urban landscape should provide a sufficient level of safety, attractiveness, walkability, serve multiple purposes and rich in vegetation to promote social integration

  2. Wilderness experiences may be salutary because of the benefits of companionship, being physically active.

  3. These programs concentrated on collective experience can provide experience of equality and community, social decision-making and responsibility, social bonding and support.

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