Psycho-behavioral responses to urban scenes: An exploration through eye-tracking

Reflected through a series of objective and subjective perceptions, the built environment in an urban area plays a significant role in shaping human well-being. While previous studies have mostly focused on the positive effects of urban green spaces drawing from observational or subjective metrics, it is evident that other urban elements, such as the presence of mismanaged trash can also play a major role in shaping various aspects of human well-being. This paper focuses on the conscious and unconscious (through eye-tracking) effects of the presence of construction sites, recreational vehicles (RVs), and trash within urban settings on people's self-reported stress, valence, and arousal, as well as perceptions of social disorder, social cohesion, danger, and desirability of different neighborhoods. Our results indicate the adverse effect of the presence of such elements on well-being and urban perception metrics measured through standard questionnaires and eye-tracking, with trash having the highest adverse impact. Additional results from eye-tracking analysis reveal that participants spend more time viewing the area of the image with trash, consistent with their self-reported ratings. Our results highlight the spectrum of conscious and unconscious effects of the built environment on human well-being and help quantify such effects.