Does restorativeness support liveliness on commercial streets?

The role of restorativeness in attracting and retaining people on commercial streets has been under-researched. To examine this topic, this convergent parallel mixed methods study was conducted on four commercial streets in Brazil. It included a quantitative evaluation of correlations between a set of microscale aspects of commercial streets and liveliness, and a qualitative thematic analysis of users’ experiences informed by the Attention Restoration Theory. The results showed restorativeness as one pathway linking microscale aspects of commercial streets to liveliness. The perceived restorative potential of microscale aspects of commercial streets should be considered when adopting fine-grained approaches to enhance their liveliness.