The effects of "greening" urban areas on the perceptions of tranquility

Abstract

A number of studies have been conducted at the Bradford Centre for Sustainable Environments at the University of Bradford which have examined the effects of natural features on ratings of tranquillity. These include quantifying the effects of the percentage of natural and contextual features and man-made noise on rated tranquillity. Recently the resulting prediction equation TRAPT (Tranquillity Rating Prediction Tool) has been used to examine a number of scenarios including city parks and square, country parks and moorland areas and to relate predictions to ratings made by visitors to these green spaces and reported levels of relaxation. The tool has also been used for predicting tranquillity in city squares of different sizes, to examine tranquillity behind natural (green) and manufactured noise barriers and to assess the benefits of “greening” streets in urban areas using avenues of trees, hedges and grass verges. The paper reviews these studies and gives examples of the extent to which introducing vegetation is predicted to provide benefits.