Exploring the relationship between spatial morphology characteristics and scenic beauty preference of landscape open space unit by using point cloud data

To explore the relationship between the objective morphological features and subjective scenic beauty preference of landscape open space units, this study improves the research method for morphology quantification, scenic beauty preference survey and relationship analysis. Fourteen morphology factors representing the features of boundary, domain and enclosure are quantified based on the point cloud data of 35 open space units. Scenic beauty evaluation is conducted online with dynamic panoramic photos. Principal component analysis is implemented to convert 14 correlated form factors into five principal components representing morphological principle. The multiple linear regression model explains the contribution of each principal component to scenic beauty preference values, showing a significance sequence of penetration, scale, naturalness, complexity and rhythm. The first three principal components have positive impacts on scenic beauty preference, while the last two principal components are negative. This work aims to reveal the regularity of public’s scenic beauty preference for open space morphology.