Residential balcony as a healing environment: perceived restorativeness, influencing factors and space needs

Purpose Balcony, as a restorative resource in modern housing, has attracted more and more attention. However, there is a lack of systematic research on the influencing factors and mechanisms of balcony perceived restorativeness (PR). This study attempts to explore the PR potential of the balcony and its predictive factors. Design/methodology/approach This paper investigates 1,482 survey data from Shanghai and uses quantitative and qualitative methods to evaluate the residents’ usage status of balconies, PR evaluation and space demand. The relationship between social-demographic characteristics, housing and balcony environment characteristics, balcony activity dose and activity type and balcony PR is further analyzed. Findings Multiple linear hierarchical regression analysis explained that 24.4% of the balcony PR score (R2 = 0.244). Among them, the balcony activity types are the key characteristic that affects the PR, which explains 8.4% of the score change, followed by the characteristics of housing and balcony environment (7.9%) and balcony activity doses (7.2%). The explanatory power of social-demographic characteristics is the weakest (1.1%). Respondents’ needs for the current healing balcony can be summarized as functional needs, physiological needs and psychological needs. Finally, the theoretical and social implications of the research are summarized, and practical recommendations for developing healing balconies are proposed. Originality/value The value of this study lies in proving the restoration potential of the balcony, quantitatively describing the different contributions of influencing factors and clarifying the multi-level balcony needs of residents. The research findings expand the theoretical foundation of healthy balcony studies, offering insights for the design and renovation of residential balconies. They promote a systematic societal understanding of the health benefits of balconies and provide a basis for policy formulation.