Restorative Effect of Physical and Non-Physical Aesthetic Features for Reducing Mental Fatigue in Historical Urban Squares by Using E-RUSF | ||
| JES. Journal of Engineering Sciences | ||
| Article 14, Volume 54, Issue 3, May and June 2026 | ||
| Document Type: Research Paper | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/jesaun.2025.402911.1609 | ||
| Author | ||
| Nourhan Mohamed Abd Elaziz* | ||
| Urban Design Department, Faculty of Urban and Regional Planning, Cairo University | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Positive environmental psychology significantly impacts individual development and growth. Restorative environments can range from fully natural to completely built, enabling individuals to recover from cognitive fatigue. After the epidemic era, place-related identity, especially for historical places, has gained attention in the field of environmental psychology, particularly concerning restorative experiences aimed at reducing mental fatigue, although evidence remains scarce and limited. This research aims to demonstrate whether physical and non-physical aesthetic features affect levels of restorative experience in historical urban squares within the same historical place or not, by using “Egyptian Restorative Urban Spaces Framework E-RUSF”, as an assessment method, besides a field survey, to prove applicability and refine the E-RUSF for historical urban spaces. The research has conducted a comparative analysis between two historical urban squares located within the same historical place, Khedive Cairo, which are Abdeen Square and Opera Square. The selection of urban squares is based on criteria ensuring that the two squares differ and are similar in some physical and non-physical features that affect the level of restorative experience. The research results indicate that the total percentage of restorative experience and its dimensions, at Abdeen Square, is higher than that at Opera Square in reducing mental fatigue. The findings confirm that non-physical features, besides urban interventions, periodic maintenance, and types of activities, have a higher effect on restorative experience than physical features within the same historical places. Furthermore, validating the applicability and refining the E-RUSF as an assessment tool for restorative experience within the same historical places. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Historical urban square; Restorative experience; Egyptian Restorative Urban Space Framework E-RUSF; Physical and non-physical aesthetics features; Mental fatigue | ||
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