• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.60-69
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• 2012

The project on Geonjisan Universal Design Forest Trail in Jeonju City was designed and constructed by an NGO called 'Jeonbuk Forest for Life' which was a winner for the '2008 Open Competition by the 'Committee for Greening Society' established in Korea Land Corporation. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the design satisfaction of UD forest trail. Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) method was applied to measure the user satisfaction and the total number of users. The main result of the study were as follows: the major users of the Geonjisan UD forest trail were people aged over 60 years old(37%) and the main purpose of trail usage were to 'walk and rest'(51.5%) and to 'exercise and rehabilitation' (40.6%). Furthermore, the overall user rating for the UD forest trail design was "satisfied"(3.91 point in 5-point Likert Scale). The three most influencing factors of the overall user satisfaction were facility management, user conflict, and trail width and slope. About forty-five people were found to be End-user in the UD forest trail while six people were found as End-user in non-UD trails. Most importantly, the number of End-user observed on the UD forest trail was greater than the number found in non-UD forest trail. The result implies that the UD forest trail attracts more End-users and provides opportunity for gathering and interaction with the other users. Moreover, the satisfaction rate for the UD forest trail landscape is found to be high in Likert scale, which we can assume that the well-grown existing trees and topographic features as well as appropriately designed wood-paths influence the high satisfaction rate of the users. The POE of UD forest trail revealed the importance of universal design concept due to its convenient uses of the handicapped, old, weak, pregnant woman or children.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.68-80
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• 2019

This study is to provide basic data for the user-oriented design for a middle school meditation forest in the future by analyzing the physical environment characteristics of existing middle school meditation forests, the users' utilization behavior, and the degree of the importance satisfaction. For this purpose, 24 evaluation indices based on site characteristics, naturalness, functionality, and the effectiveness of meditation forest sites were selected for analysis of importance satisfaction. We surveyed and analyzed the students and teachers of two middle schools 'A' and 'B' in Gwangju Metropolitan City. The results of this study are as follows. First, the perception and utilization rates of the meditation forests by students was significantly lower than teachers at both schools. 'A' school has a better use and recognition rate than the 'B' school. Second, the purposes of using meditation forests were rest (49.6%), weekday lunchtime (63.6%), with friends (65.0%) or colleagues (60%), and short (less than 10 minutes) rests (68.6%). They preferred flowers (30.0%) and shading plants (28.9%), mainly using shelters (57.9%) and walking trails (37.1%). Third, as a result of the importance of satisfaction analysis, the average score of the 24 items importance (3.81), higher than the satisfaction (3.62). The 24 items positioned in 4 quadrants are as follows: Nine items are in the I quadrant for 'persistent maintenance'. Three items are in the II quadrant for 'priority correction'. Seven items are in the quadrant III for 'low priority in the management and operation'. Five items are in the quadrant IV for 'avoid over effort'. For the comparison of two middle schools' satisfaction, 'A' school satisfaction was higher than 'B' school for 16 items, which showed a statistically significant difference. It is believed that the users in 'A' school are more satisfied than 'B' school because it has more forests and trails, better accessibility, and a variety of plant types and planting areas in the A school meditation forest. The results of the overall satisfaction analysis showed a significant difference between 'A' school (68.0%) and 'B' school (47.2%) as 'A' school has better shelters and trails. The rankings of the most satisfying space are walking trails (1st place) and shelters (2nd place). The reason for the highest satisfaction was for rest (stress relief and emotional support) in both 'A' and 'B' schools.