7. Study on the Visual Perception of Historical Streetscapes Using Kansei Engineering

Lemya Kacha and Mouenes Abd Elrrahmane Bouakar investigate public spaces and their impact on the local community in the historic centre of Cherchell in Algeria, which has rich Punic, Roman, Arab-Andalusian, Ottoman and French heritage. The main objective of their analysis is to assess the perceptions and attractiveness of selected streetscapes among domestic tourists. Here, the Kansei Engineering method allowed them to quantify participants’ perceptions of streetscapes based on panoramic photographs. Through this method, which has significant potential in the field of sustainable cultural tourism and heritage conservation, the researchers found that the originality of the materials and the construction techniques are the main factors that have led to the preservation of heritage value. Moreover, the attractiveness of architectural heritage will contribute to enhancing both cultural and heritage tourism in the long term.