Study on the Impact of Urban Waterfront Landscape Elements on Public Health Behaviors Based on Restorative Perception

Objective Urban waterfront green spaces, as typical representatives of urban blue-green spaces, not only provide a wide range of ecosystem services but also serve as important venues for the public to engage in various outdoor health-related activities. Although previous studies have confirmed the close relationship between the diverse and complex landscape elements of waterfront green spaces and health behaviors, most of these studies have focused on comparisons between overall waterfront green spaces, with insufficient exploration of how the landscape elements within these green spaces affect health behaviors. Meanwhile, restorative perception has been identified as a key factor influencing individual behavioral decisions in natural environments, providing a new perspective for exploring this relationship. Therefore, this study aims to delve into how landscape elements in urban waterfront green spaces influence public health behaviors from an internal spatial perspective, with restorative perception as a mediator. Methods To achieve this goal, this study takes Wuhan ShaHu Park as an example and selects 93 landscape nodes within the park as the research objects. Initially, a DeepLabv3+ semantic segmentation model tailored for waterfront green space landscapes was developed through manual training.?This was coupled with MATLAB-based color quantification and assignment statistical techniques to comprehensively and meticulously quantify?landscape elements across six dimensions: space, nature, artificiality, waterfront characteristics, color and entity. Subsequently, field surveys were conducted to gather public assessments of restorative perceptions (encompassing being away, fascination, extent, and compatibility) at the sample sites. Behavioral observations were also employed to document specific instances of public engagement in restorative, physical, and social activities within these sites. Ultimately, data analysis methods, including multiple regression analysis and mediation effect analysis, were applied to explore the interrelationships among landscape elements, restorative?perceptions, and health behaviors. Results Study Findings: 1) Natural landscapes significantly enhance the public''s restorative perception, while a high proportion of artificial elements has the opposite effect. Specifically, flower landscapes, open and clear water bodies, and scenes with rich and bright colors or predominantly green hues can enhance positive perceptions. In contrast, bare soil, high proportions of paving/urban backgrounds, and scenes dominated by red/yellow hues have negative impacts. Especially when the proportion of paving in the view exceeds 10%, the urban background exceeds 6%, and the total proportion of artificial elements exceeds 30%, the negative impacts are particularly evident. 2) Different types of health behaviors exhibit spatial distribution differences and are significantly influenced by distinct elements. Restorative activities tend to occur in open waterside spaces, colorful and flower-filled landscapes; physical activities prefer linear waterside spaces and rubberized surfaces; and social activities favor small landscape spaces with simple vegetation layers, rich colors, and harmonious building proportions. 3) Restorative perception plays a crucial role in promoting restorative and social activities, serving as a complete mediator in the relationships between "blue view ratio and restorative activities," "flower landscapes and social activities," and as a partial mediator in the relationship between "flower landscapes and restorative activities." However, for physical activities, the direct influence of restorative perception is relatively weak, possibly due to physical activities'' greater dependence on the specific functional attributes of the site. Conclusion This study concludes that the three types of health behaviors demonstrate distinct preferences for various landscape nodes, and that enhancing restorative perception positively influences health behaviors. To further augment the health benefits of waterfront green spaces, future initiatives may include: Firstly, prioritizing the development of natural landscapes while minimizing artificial elements, leveraging natural features to create inviting environments and ensuring their regular maintenance; Secondly, strategically planning spatial colors to foster vibrant and diverse landscapes, with attention to color harmonies, such as incorporating bright hues in floral arrangements and architectural features to enrich the spatial palette and enhance public restorative perception; and thirdly, implementing tailored designs for nodes to cater to diverse needs, establishing functional spaces based on health behavior types, for instance, promoting restorative activities through the integration of vibrant floral displays in open waterside areas, providing physical activity infrastructure along watersides and on rubberized surfaces to satisfy public exercise requirements, and augmenting architectural spaces in aesthetically pleasing, colorful venues to facilitate social interactions. This study delves into the intrinsic relationships between landscape elements, restorative perception, and health behaviors within urban waterfront green spaces from a spatial perspective. These findings not only enrich the theoretical framework exploring the link between waterfront green space landscape elements and public health behaviors but also offer scientific insights and practical guidance for the design and optimization of landscape nodes in urban waterfront green spaces, specifically from the perspective of "health behavior promotion."