Quantitative measurement of visitors’ reactions to the settings in urban parks: Spatial and temporal analysis of photographs

This study presents a method for quantitatively measuring visitors’ reactions to the settings they encounter in an urban park. We conducted an experiment that required the participants to take photographs of scenes that they perceived positively in one urban park with a pond using digital cameras and wearing GPS loggers. Two courses around the pond were predetermined, and the respondents were divided into two groups, each of which was instructed to walk along each course. The spatial and temporal densities of photographs were visualized by kernel density estimation. Consequently, the accumulation patterns of visitors’ interests were revealed.

► We quantitatively measure visitors’ reactions using photographic technique and GIS.
► Participants photographed scenes in Inogashira Park that they perceived positively.
► The spatial and temporal accumulations of visitors’ interests are visualized.
► Spaces around the center of a bridge have high potential as sightseeing resources.
► Participants’ interest in the visited places decreased over time after their peak.