Examination of Urban Landscape Aesthetics through Mapping Using Geotagged Social Media Data from Flickr

Abstract

Landscapes are part of the earth’s surface, and include terrestrial, aquatic, natural, and anthropogenic features with differing dominance. The evaluation of Landscape Aesthetics (LA) and scenery is helpful for the understanding landscapes. The mapping of LA is increasingly being recognized in urban and landscape planning. Examining the flow and capacity of LA is an essential element in understanding the sustainability of urban landscapes. An explicit methodological approach was proposed for mapping LA using social media data (geolocated photographs) from Flickr to study the spatial distribution of LA in Xi’an, China. The LA flow and LA capacity were conceptually distinguished and assessed. The LA flow was analyzed with 10,278 geotagged photographs from Flickr to express people’s actual appreciation of LA. The LA capacity was examined by spatial criterion evaluation, combined the weight of landscape features. LA flow and LA capacity differ in both spatial extent and quantity, although there was a spatially explicit balance between them. The results show that LA flow largely occurs in the urban core zone and that LA capacity is concentrated in certain parts of Xi’an due to the imbalanced distribution of historical cultural heritage sites. This research contributes to a better understanding of LA values and the relationships between LA values and landscape characteristics. The results can support the integration of cultural services in landscape planning and land use policy.