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In many parts of the world, concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic and city quarantine policy have led to a general decline in the physical and mental health of residents due to insufficient social interaction. These adverse effects can cause potential public health risks. Ways to alleviate the adverse impact of the pandemic and meet social interaction needs must be widely addressed. This survey was conducted from 1–5 April 2020; it collected 386 responses from residents of Chengdu, China, during the pandemic based on an online survey questionnaire. The results indicate that most of the residents believe their health status is poor, and that they do not experience adequate social contact with others. Most of the respondents indicated no difference in mental health, while a few reported differences in their physical health and social interaction levels. Visiting urban parks can significantly improve overall health and assist in meeting individuals’ social interaction needs. Although residents have reduced the frequency of visits during the pandemic, even once a week can be beneficial. This paper emphasizes the critical role of urban parks during the pandemic period from the perspective of the urban building environment. The conclusion affirms that urban parks and large outdoor, open spaces can provide residents with a place for safe outdoor activities and social interaction in a green environment during a pandemic, as well as serve as a buffer area to maintain favorable health and quality of life.

Although the health benefits of urban parks have gained significant attention, the effects of viewing park landscape on older adult residents have not commanded much research. This study aimed to investigate the physiological and psychological effects of viewing cherry blossoms in spring and fresh greenery in early summer at urban parks. The experiments were conducted in two viewing spots in the same park in Japan during different seasons, and included 12 participants in both spring (mean age, 66.4 ± 10.5 years) and summer (mean age, 65.75 ± 10.1 years). Participants sat and viewed an urban park and city landscape for 11–15 min. Blood pressure was measured before and after the seated viewing while heart rate was measured continuously. Then, they evaluated the psychological responses using the Profile of Mood States and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Viewing cherry blossoms and fresh greenery in urban parks led to lower blood pressure in spring and early summer than viewing city areas in spring and early summer. Moreover, the score of vigor–activity was significantly higher; tension–anxiety was significantly lower in spring; and the state-anxiety level was significantly lower in early summer. The results of this study suggest that viewing urban parks results in physiological and psychological relaxation.

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The benefits of park therapy have been investigated in young adults, but rarely for middle-aged and older adults. This study evaluates the physiological and psychological effects of walking in urban parks and park therapy images in winter, spring, and early summer. The experiments were implemented in two walking courses in the urban park in Japan and involved 12 middle-aged and older adults. Participants walked on walking courses in an urban park and city street for 11–15 min. Their heart rate and blood pressure were evaluated to determine physiological responses. The Profile of Mood States (POMS), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and Landscape Image Sketching Technique (LIST) were used to determine psychological responses and spatial conditions. Walking in an urban park exhibited lower heart rates and blood pressure as compared to walking in the city. It was congruent with lowered negative moods, total mood disturbance (TMD) scores, and state anxiety, while the higher positive mood was observed in the urban parks as compared to the city. Images in winter displayed trees, relaxation, and comfort; in spring, water, activity, people, surrounding place, and recreational space; and in early summer, greenery, lawn, and broadness. In conclusion, walking in urban parks leads to physiological, psychological relaxation, and varied landscape appreciation.

Japan and Russia have deeply rooted cultural traditions regarding natural landscape appreciation, share a common border, and have areas with similar natural environments. They differ, however, in cultural, historical, and economic aspects. The purpose of this study was to reveal the similarities and differences between Russian and Japanese respondents regarding the visual and emotional evaluation of landscapes based on ethno-cultural and regional differences. We asked respondents at universities in Russia (Moscow, Irkutsk, and Kamchatka) and Japan (Hokkaido, Chiba, and Miyazaki) to group and rate 70 landscape images. Unlike theoretical concepts that explain landscape preferences within an evolutionary framework or according to individual and cultural differences, we found that these factors interact in more complicated ways. Cultural traditions and features of the natural environment that were familiar to respondents influenced their visual perception and aesthetic evaluation of landscape. Russian respondents seemed more emotional while Japanese respondents tended to be more restrained in their assessments. However, there was a strong correlation between their estimates of landscape attractiveness, which might confirm the existence of universal human concepts of landscape aesthetics. The most attractive for both Russian and Japanese respondents were waterfalls, mountains, and lakes; waterless plains were the least attractive. At the same time, we found cross-cultural differences in assessing seacoasts, rivers, forests, and swampy plains. There was practically no correlation between Russian and Japanese respondents in their appreciation of exotic/familiar landscapes. For the Russian respondents, the most exotic landscapes were also the most attractive, although we did not observe such a tendency for the Japanese. All respondents appreciated certain familiar landscapes that were symbols of native nature as very attractive. Unlike 'geoscientific' landscape classifications, in the visual and emotional grouping of landscapes, the most important feature appeared to be the presence/absence of water and the type of water basin (river, lake, and sea); for Russian respondents (especially Muscovites), topography was also important, while the Japanese respondents mostly used visual and seasonal characteristics in their classifications. All Japanese respondents assessed the attractiveness and exoticism of landscapes almost identically, while there were some differences among Russian respondents from different regions.

The aim of this study was to explore the keywords related to smart city concepts, and to understand their flow. This research used a keyword network analysis by collecting keywords from papers published on the web from Scopus, which is an international scholarly papers engine. The data were collected from before and after 2016, and since the amount of data has been growing rapidly after global agreements such as the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, we attempted to focus on adjacent years of publication. In order to understand the flow of research, we conducted a central analysis, which is widely used in quantitative research relating to social network analysis, and performed cluster analysis to identify relationships with related research. The results of the analysis are represented in the form of network maps, and the role of each keyword was clarified based on these network maps. In addition, the overall flow explained the change of flow through discarded and emerging keywords, and the relationships with related fields were explained through cluster analysis. The findings could serve as a basis for policymakers, urban managers, and researchers seeking a comprehensive understanding of the smart city concept in urban planning areas.Sustainability 2019, 11, 3155 2 of 25 adaption to environmental issues such as climate change and global warming, and efficiently utilizing and managing energy. In addition, Information and Communication Technologies (hereafter ICT) will extensively and effectively help cities achieve a comparative edge [4,8,9], and be used as the tools and means to develop Intelligent Transport Systems (hereafter ITS) with mobility information and the Internet of Things (hereafter IoT) [10][11][12], as well as to achieve urban policy making based on governance and open data [13][14][15]. Accordingly, in improving the urban quality of future urban areas, the term smart city is considered as an umbrella concept that includes various sub-concepts such as sustainable smart environments, smart technology, smart energy, smart transportation, smart mobility, and smart government [16][17][18][19][20][21].

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