Investigating Visual Aesthetic Fatigue in Urban Green Spaces

Life experience suggests that visual aesthetic fatigue (VAF) is quite common. However, few academic works have focussed on VAF in landscapes, thus our understanding of this issue is very poor, not to mention what measures can be taken to mitigate it. To address these gaps, this study investigated VAF using 16 photographs taken in urban green spaces in Xuzhou (local landscapes) and Hong Kong (non-local landscapes) as stimuli. The visual aesthetic quality (VAQ) of 16 photographs was evaluated four times by the same college students at an interval of one week. Statistical analysis demonstrated that VAF occurred in urban green spaces. Male respondents had a higher VAF than females. There were no significant differences in VAQ and VAF between local and non-local landscapes. No landscape characteristic significantly correlated to or predicted VAF, implying that it is very difficult to mitigate VAF through designing and managing static landscapes. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s41742-023-00517-x.