Perceived place qualities, restorative effects and self-reported wellbeing benefits of visits to heritage sites: Empirical evidence from a visitor survey in England
Heritage sites are complex environments that cannot be easily be located within a nature – built space dichotomy. Although a small but growing body of evidence supports the potential of visits to heritage sites in generating wellbeing benefits, there is a gap in understanding how such benefits may b...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Wellbeing, Space and Society |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666558122000355 |
| _version_ | 1811188521287811072 |
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| author | Eirini Gallou David Uzzell Joanna Sofaer |
| author_facet | Eirini Gallou David Uzzell Joanna Sofaer |
| author_sort | Eirini Gallou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Heritage sites are complex environments that cannot be easily be located within a nature – built space dichotomy. Although a small but growing body of evidence supports the potential of visits to heritage sites in generating wellbeing benefits, there is a gap in understanding how such benefits may be related to the perceived qualities or affordances of heritage sites. We present an exploratory survey instrument designed and tested to generate empirical evidence on the association between the qualities of heritage sites, the restorative effects of a heritage visit, and the extent to which these are positively associated with self-reported subjective wellbeing benefits. The survey was given to sample of 780 visitors to 7 heritage sites in England from June to October 2020. Factor analysis of responses led to extraction of 3 core components related to how participants evaluated their experience of the qualities of place, and 2 core components linked to the restorative effects of the visit. Using these core components to create composite variables, regression models were fitted to understand which qualities of place and effects of the visit predict self-reported wellbeing benefits. The results suggest that different components of heritage sites may contribute to increase in positive affect and reduction in anxiety elements of wellbeing. They suggest potential therapeutic benefits of visits to heritage sites for self-directed visits, and thus potential means of sustainably delivering support for public wellbeing at scale. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T14:21:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-80034880d53f491194da8285cb3dccd7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-5581 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T14:21:19Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Wellbeing, Space and Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-80034880d53f491194da8285cb3dccd72022-12-22T04:19:04ZengElsevierWellbeing, Space and Society2666-55812022-01-013100106Perceived place qualities, restorative effects and self-reported wellbeing benefits of visits to heritage sites: Empirical evidence from a visitor survey in EnglandEirini Gallou0David Uzzell1Joanna Sofaer2Policy and Evidence (Analytics), Historic England, London, United KingdomUniversity of Surrey, School of Psychology, Guildford, United KingdomDepartment of Archaeology, University of Southampton, Avenue Campus Highfield, Southampton, United Kingdom; Corresponding author.Heritage sites are complex environments that cannot be easily be located within a nature – built space dichotomy. Although a small but growing body of evidence supports the potential of visits to heritage sites in generating wellbeing benefits, there is a gap in understanding how such benefits may be related to the perceived qualities or affordances of heritage sites. We present an exploratory survey instrument designed and tested to generate empirical evidence on the association between the qualities of heritage sites, the restorative effects of a heritage visit, and the extent to which these are positively associated with self-reported subjective wellbeing benefits. The survey was given to sample of 780 visitors to 7 heritage sites in England from June to October 2020. Factor analysis of responses led to extraction of 3 core components related to how participants evaluated their experience of the qualities of place, and 2 core components linked to the restorative effects of the visit. Using these core components to create composite variables, regression models were fitted to understand which qualities of place and effects of the visit predict self-reported wellbeing benefits. The results suggest that different components of heritage sites may contribute to increase in positive affect and reduction in anxiety elements of wellbeing. They suggest potential therapeutic benefits of visits to heritage sites for self-directed visits, and thus potential means of sustainably delivering support for public wellbeing at scale.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666558122000355Heritage sitesSubjective wellbeingRestorative effectsAttention Restoration Theory |
| spellingShingle | Eirini Gallou David Uzzell Joanna Sofaer Perceived place qualities, restorative effects and self-reported wellbeing benefits of visits to heritage sites: Empirical evidence from a visitor survey in England Wellbeing, Space and Society Heritage sites Subjective wellbeing Restorative effects Attention Restoration Theory |
| title | Perceived place qualities, restorative effects and self-reported wellbeing benefits of visits to heritage sites: Empirical evidence from a visitor survey in England |
| title_full | Perceived place qualities, restorative effects and self-reported wellbeing benefits of visits to heritage sites: Empirical evidence from a visitor survey in England |
| title_fullStr | Perceived place qualities, restorative effects and self-reported wellbeing benefits of visits to heritage sites: Empirical evidence from a visitor survey in England |
| title_full_unstemmed | Perceived place qualities, restorative effects and self-reported wellbeing benefits of visits to heritage sites: Empirical evidence from a visitor survey in England |
| title_short | Perceived place qualities, restorative effects and self-reported wellbeing benefits of visits to heritage sites: Empirical evidence from a visitor survey in England |
| title_sort | perceived place qualities restorative effects and self reported wellbeing benefits of visits to heritage sites empirical evidence from a visitor survey in england |
| topic | Heritage sites Subjective wellbeing Restorative effects Attention Restoration Theory |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666558122000355 |
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