2001/07/01 by Kalevi M. Korpela, Kalevi Korpela, Terry Hartig +3 · 29 citations
Social Sciences · Environmental Science · #Place Attachment and Urban Studies #Urban Green Space and Health #Educational Environments and Student Outcomes
paper · doi:10.1177/00139160121973133
The authors report further evidence bearing on the relations among restorative experiences, self-regulation, and place attachment. University students ( n = 101) described their favorite places and experiences in them, and 98 other students described unpleasant places. Natural settings were overrepresented among favorite places and underrepresented among the unpleasant places. In open-ended accounts, frequent mention of being relaxed, being away from everyday life, forgetting worries, and reflecting on personal matters indicated a link between favorite places and restorative experience. Restoration was particularly typical of natural favorite places. Structured evaluations of being away, fascination, coherence, and compatibility indicated they were experienced to a high degree in the favorite places, although fascination to a lesser degree than compatibility. The favorite and unpleasant places differed substantially in all four restorative qualities but especially in being away and compatibility. Self-referencing appears to be more characteristic of favorite place experiences than engaging or interesting environmental properties.