Landscape Quality Assessment

Significance

Combining both their physical origins and the cultural overlay of human presence, and often created over millennia, landscapes reflect the living synthesis of people and place vital to local and national identity. The characteristics and quality of landscapes help define the self-image of a region—its sense of place—differentiating it from other regions. It is the dynamic backdrop to people's lives. Viewing natural landscapes may provide tangible health benefits. Many landscapes attract visitors, thereby supporting tourism and recreational industries and supporting regional economies. Landscape degradation diminishes quality of life. The iconic value of distinctive landscapes is commonly used in advertising. Many World Heritage Areas (as defined under the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO] in 1972) and national parks are established to safeguard landscapes of outstanding quality. The results of landscape quality assessment may influence relevant policies.

Theoretical Basis

An evolutionary perspective underlies current theories of landscape quality: Preferences for high-quality landscapes are survival enhancing. Far from being casual or trivial, Stephen Kaplan believes, aesthetics are a guide to human behavior and have far-reaching consequences.

Jay Appleton's prospect-refuge theory postulates that, originally, landscapes were preferred that enabled one to see without being seen, that provided places (prospects) where one could spy out game or the enemy while also providing places (refuges) in which to hide. Empirical studies provide some support to this theory while identifying other contributing factors; for example, mountains and trees (prospects) are preferred, but caves (refuges) are not.

Roger Urlich's affective theory postulates that natural settings and landscapes produce emotional states of well-being in their viewers. When landscape aesthetics are measured on a like-dislike dichotomy, these states correlate closely with scales such as beautiful-ugly or scenic quality scales. A study of hospital patients found that those with a view of trees recovered more quickly and required fewer analgesics than those without this view.

Gordon Orians's habitat theory postulates a biological imperative for humans to prefer environments likely to afford the necessities of life. He has found strong preference for the African savanna, containing scattered acacia trees amid extensive grassland, believed to be the environment in which humans evolved. The popularity of pastoral landscapes of trees and grass, as found in parks, reinforces his case.

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