Abstract
Mapping cognitive landscape perception is hindered by the difficulty of representing opinions that are spatially distributed in a heterogeneous way or not restricted by the locations of physical elements in the landscape. In recent years, the use of tools based on geographic information techniques has gained momentum in landscape assessment. We propose a methodology for generalizing cognitive landscape opinions on a spatial basis. To this end, we used a public participatory geographic information system to collect data, which is a method based on bipolar adjectives to approach users’ opinions, and the inverse distance weighted spatial interpolator and multi-criteria evaluation to undertake the spatial analysis. The study was conducted in the Ebro Delta, which is a protected wetland in northeastern Spain. The assessment was based on 1593 georeferenced opinions and resulted in a continuous geographic map of 330 km2 depicting positive and negative perceptions about the landscape. The area under study was perceived as productive, interesting, attractive, and, for the most part, quiet and peaceful, although it was seen as dirty in some parts. The method successfully mapped cognitive landscape opinions and establishes a novel procedure in landscape approaches.
Highlights
Landscape perception is crucial with regard to aesthetic preferences, well-being, landscape character assessment, tourism, travel motivation, planning, and regional development [7,8,9,10,11]
In the first stage of the study, a participation GIS (PPGIS) platform based on Google Maps was designed, tested, and set up to compile users’ opinions on the landscape
Landscape perception was assessed by characterizing the participants in the questionnaire, analyzing their opinions on each requested concept, and conducting spatial analysis
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Landscape perception is a common issue in landscape assessment and plays a key role in the approach to and definition of landscapes [1,2]. How a landscape is perceived relates to aesthetic judgment, a sense of place, identity, recreation, the familiarity of the setting, attractiveness, and a wide range of ecosystem services (e.g., [3,4,5,6]). Landscape perception is crucial with regard to aesthetic preferences, well-being, landscape character assessment, tourism, travel motivation, planning, and regional development [7,8,9,10,11]
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