Mediating Roles of Cultural Perception and Place Attachment in the Landscape–Wellbeing Relationship: Insights from Historical Urban Parks in Wuhan, China

While extensive research has examined the contribution of urban parks to well-being, empirical evidence on the role of cultural attributes in historical urban parks and their impact on visitors’ well-being remains limited. This study explores the impact of physical characteristics of historical urban parks on well-being from the perspective of human settlement environment. Quantitative data were collected from 11 urban parks in Wuhan, China, combining online crowdsourcing for physical characteristic assessments and questionnaire surveys for psychological evaluations. Machine learning techniques, spatial analysis, and statistical methods including multistep regression and Bootstrap sampling were employed to test our hypotheses. Our results demonstrate that objective physical features—including park area, green coverage rate, green space shape index, and the proportion of heritage landmarks—positively influence well-being, whereas road density exhibits a negative association. Cultural perception and place attachment serve as significant mediators between physical characteristics and well-being outcomes, with the proportion of heritage landmarks influencing well-being through a dual mediation path. Additionally, we found interaction effects between physical and psychological factors, with education level moderating the relationship between cultural perception and well-being. These findings advance environmental psychology theory by elucidating how historical elements foster unique pathways to well-being, distinct from those offered by conventional green spaces. Our research provides evidence-based guidance for historical urban park design and renovation in the context of urban renewal, where balancing preservation and modernization presents significant challenges.