How sensory stimuli and barrier-free environments through restorative environmental perception influence visually impaired Individuals’ satisfaction with urban parks

Abstract

The well-being and holistic development of visually impaired individuals (VII) are fundamental requisites for constructing more inclusive cities, and they necessitate the provision of environments that are more conducive to the habitation of the VII. The restorative experiences of the VII within urban parks play a pivotal role in fostering their physical and mental health; however, this domain has received relatively little scholarly attention. Hence, this study, which is grounded in theories of restorativeness and sensory compensation, adopted Guangzhou, China, as its contextual background. It employs a mixed-methods approach that incorporates both online and offline questionnaire surveys to gather data on the perceptual experiences of 448 VII in urban parks. This study constructed a “stimulus-cognition-attitude” model to investigate the interrelationships among sensory stimuli, perceptions of a barrier-free environment, restorative environmental perception, and satisfaction.