Landscapes in our minds: people's choice of recreative places in towns

Abstract

Why do people choose a certain park or open space as their ideal recreational place? Landscape architects, planners and administrators have pondered over the problem for a long time. Today, when people's awareness of and demand for good environments for leisure and recreation have become more and more extensive, knowledge of their psychological relation to parks and landscape becomes indispensable. In this paper I will present the research at the Department of Landscape Planning, Alnarp, within this subject. In particular, our approach to this problem is highlighted, and eight positive characteristics which Swedish people wish to experience in parks and urban green areas are presented.