Visual landscape quality in landscape planning: examples of Kars and Ardahan cities in Turkey.

Abstract

Together with European landscape convention, it is required that studies related to landscape planning should be integrated with the sectors such as department of urban and regional planning, industry, agriculture and forestry. Visual landscape analysis has an important position in landscape planning. In this study, it is aimed that a method for visual landscape quality which is one of the researches of landscape analysis is developed in a physical planning workout that is to be carried out in Kars and Ardahan. The data that is to represent the seven factors are: Landform, vegetation, water, color, influence of adjacent scenery, scarcity, cultural modifications, in practicing the visual source management method has been constructed in the environment of geographical information systems by making use of the databases of Ministry of Environment and Forestry and Corine land cover. The accuracy of visual landscape quality maps has been proved by practicing the method in site conditions and in twenty three different points. This situation proves that the method can safely be practiced in the studies such as sub-regional scales, planning and strategic environmental assessment.   Key words: Ardahan, Kars, landscape planning, visual quality.