Landscape Perception Research Articles

Impact of Displacement Phenomena on Landscape Identity: Application of Cultural Values Model

The research attempted to discover the impact of displacement phenomena on the identity of landscape, by using Janet Stephenson’s Cultural Values Model to study and analyze cultural landscapes. The model was chosen due to its universality, simplicity and embodiment of the relational concept of landscape perception and evaluation. The result of landscape evaluation depends on the characteristics of both landscape and observer, as well as on the relation of the object and subject. In order to understand the complexity and diversity of landscape and its identity, these were analyzed through a ternary system, consisting of forms, practices, and relationships, i.e. what is seen, what is happening and what it means to those who see and use it. The research represents a feasible and pragmatic approach to understand the complexity of landscape and its identity, by tracing back their retrospective changes due to the impact of displacement phenomena – a shift of objects, behaviours or relationships. Through this theoretical and methodological model, multiple universal correlational patterns were developing, in which the three components encountering the displacement behave and interact with each other, leading to an ambiguous impact on landscape identity and the socio-cultural quality of the human living environment. By studying and time-tracking different landscape cases that experienced major displacements from around the world to one of landscape’s systemic components, the research results show some regular patterns in landscape identity changes, and how its structural tangible and intangible system performs and effects in creating, or destroying landscape identity, defying the limits of spatial and historical context.

Floridian Households’ Perceptions of Florida-Friendly Landscapes

This report summarizes Floridian homeowners’ perceptions of Florida-Friendly Landscapes, which aim to reduce inputs and costs while improving environmental health. Written by Hayk Khachatryan, Alicia Rihn, Xumin Zhang, and Michael Dukes, and published by the UF/IFAS Food and Resource Economics Department, May 2021.

Mapping Landscape Perception: An Assessment with Public Participation Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Analysis Techniques

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.

The influence of weather and level of observer expertise on suburban landscape perception

Research on landscape perception has a long tradition, whereas attempts to determine the influence of weather conditions on such perception are rare. The objective of this study is to determine if positive or negative weather type can influence the expert and layman's perception of the suburban landscape. Based on fixations and saccades, the chosen eye-tracking metrics were calculated on the basis of the tested landscape scene as a whole as well as established areas of interest (AOIs). Nonparametric tests and the Voronoi cell method were applied to identify the differences among visual approaches. The research results indicate that the landscape perception is influenced by the weather type. The fixation and saccades in positive weather (sunny high-pressure weather) are significantly shorter, while the distribution of gaze intensity is different compared to negative weather. Significant differences between experts and laymen concerning fixations and saccades were found during positive weather, in negative weather type, both groups observe the landscape in a rather similar fashion. Taking into account the division into AOIs, significant differences in the perception of the test landscape mainly concerned centrally located AOIs and the horizon zone. An analysis using Voronoi cells indicates that regardless of weather type, the distribution of gaze intensity for the group of experts is greater than for the group of laymen. Moreover, it can be noted that the weather generally affects the entire gamut of all respondents' gaze, and that experts and laymen observe the landscape differently in both types of weather.

Contextualising landscape perceptions: the role of urban landscape, ecosystem and water system in formation of mental models of a stormwater wetland in Brisbane

Ecological design used for stormwater management—referred to as Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD)—exemplifies how urban environments can benefit from mimicking natural processes to create multifunctional urban spaces. However, for WSUD to be successfully adopted, it must respond to community landscape perceptions and incorporate their preferences into the designs. This paper investigates whether members of a local community form mental models of how broader urban systems work and whether these inform how specific WSUD landscapes are perceived. Semi-structured interviews with residents near a stormwater wetland in Brisbane, Australia, provided data to elicit mental models of the wetland and higher-order schemata of urban systems of which it is seen to be a part. Interviewees perceived the wetland through the lens of four mental models: animal haven, generic water infrastructure, multi-user community space, and pressure valve for urban consolidation. Schemata of broader urban systems manifested in the mental models of the wetland itself. The experience of Millennium Drought, perceived ecosystem demise and urban consolidation policies were important influences. This research contributes to the understanding of cultural sustainability of ecological design. The results suggest that public acceptance of WSUD and ecological design may benefit from (1) site design that shows effort to tackle priority concerns of the local community, and (2) addressing elements of the understanding of broader urban systems that contradict messages about the site. More broadly, the study demonstrates the importance of context for landscape perception research and offers a method to explore it.

Understanding Black, Asian, Latinx, and White College Students’ Views of Nature: Frequent Thoughts About Wild, Remote, Rural, and Urban Landscapes

Nature and landscapes are essential elements of American culture. Consequently, many scholars have examined the public’s perceptions of nature and landscapes. Some posit that Blacks are averse to wildlands and prefer urban settings. Despite the plethora of research, few studies investigate what comes to people’s minds when contemplating nature. This study of 287 American college students examines what students think about when they reflect on nature. Furthermore, the study investigates whether there are significant racial/ethnic differences in the way students think about nature. The study also investigates how gender, social class, age, educational attainment, and academic interests are related to what students think about when they reflect on nature. Data presented here were collected in 2017 from a national sample of students who attend colleges and universities all over the country. The study used a purposive sampling technique to identify students in various majors. The sample contains undergraduates and graduate students. It comprises 102 Whites, 63 Asians, 62 Blacks, and 60 Latinx/other students. The study found that respondents from all racial backgrounds reported thinking about urban landscapes when they contemplated nature. Though the racial differences were significant, the results show that ethnic minority students do not fixate on urban landscapes; less than half of the students of color said they thought about urban landscapes regularly when they thought about nature. Instead, more than 90% of the respondents regularly thought about the wild, wilderness, and untamed lands when they cogitated nature. Respondents were also much more likely to say that they thought about connectedness to nature rather than disconnection from it. The article found that the students’ educational attainment and parental/guardian education were significant in more multivariate models than other explanatory variables. The article urges researchers to investigate a broader range of explanatory variables in future studies.

Elements and Element Components of the Rural Landscape in Linpan of Western Sichuan in Relation to Perception, Preference and Stress Recovery

Natural environments contribute to people's perception, preference and health restoration. Many researchers have focused either on the positive effects of overall rural environments on stress recovery or concentrated on the perception and preference aspects of the rural landscape, but few have integrated perception, preference and stress recovery simultaneously. This paper developed a framework which includes 11 elements and 38 element components related to Linpan, China, and distributed it online as part of a survey. As a result, a total of 324 valid questionnaires were collected. The questionnaire included demographic details, perception and preference degree for Linpan, as well as self-estimations of stress recovery. Stepwise multiple linear regression was employed, and revealed 16 significant predictors for the perception, preference and stress recovery in rural environments. In terms of elements, atmosphere and imagery were the two elements that could be best perceived, while woodland, farmland, water, residence and road were the five most important elements for the preference. Moreover, seven elements were also identified as significant predictors for stress recovery. Among the element components, tranquility as well as road and water proximity were the two significant predictors for perception, while wide visibility as well as woodland and residence blending contributed significantly to stress recovery. The five element components of woodland interior, vegetable field, stream, courtyard space and branch road each had a significantly predictive ability for preference and stress recovery. These findings extend the understanding of the perception, preference and restorative properties of rural environments through the combination of elements and element components in Linpan of Western Sichuan, helping to improve the quality and characteristics of rural external and internal environments and create health-promoting environments.

Insights into Public Visual Behaviors through Eye-Tracking Tests: A Study Based on National Park System Pilot Area Landscapes

National parks are important natural reserves of high ecological value, and the visual perception of national park landscapes is closely tied to the degree of protection that the natural resources within national parks receive. Visual cognition has a direct impact on public consciousness and plays an increasingly important role in national park management. Most techniques and methods previously used to study visual behaviors are subjective and qualitative; objective and quantitative studies are rare. Here, we used the eye-tracking method to study the visual behaviors of individuals viewing landscapes within the Qianjiangyuan National Park System Pilot Area to assess the visual and psychological mechanisms underlying public perception of different landscapes. The effect of landscape type on visual behaviors was greater than that of color diversity and degree of spatial confinement and was mainly related to the characteristics of landscape elements. The public preferred recreational and forest landscapes with high ornamental value, whereas rural and wetland landscapes tended to be neglected given that perception of these landscapes required additional information to facilitate interpretation. When landscape colors were uniform and landscape spaces were more confined, the fixation duration was longer, and instant attractiveness was stronger. The effects of subject background on behavioral preferences were examined. Females were more interested in the whole landscape, whereas males focused more on the parts of the landscapes with prominent humanistic architectural features, complex colors, and open space. Art students generally preferred landscapes with strong humanistic attributes, whereas students majoring in forestry preferred landscapes with strong natural attributes.

Environmental consequences of the longing for power: Revisiting Lower Silesia’s landscapes under Frederick the Great

The prevalence of the ‘Anthropocene’—the epoch of humankind’s detrimental force on environments—in academic discourse over the past decades has reinstigated an environmental approach to landscape history. This article is part of a project focusing on Lower Silesia’s environmental history and its relationship to urbanism, political economies and sociocultural shifts. The authors hypothesize that the repair of the Middle Oder Valley’s ecological systems can only proceed once the layered and unintended consequences of the region’s large-scale social and spatial engineering are laid bare. They do so by looking into the conquest of nature at the time of the Prussian Empire under the eighteenth-century reign of Frederick the Great. Through a specific focus on landscape perception and representation—with a series of interpretative cartographies and contemporary vedute (perspective-panoramic views)—the landscape itself comes to the fore in the unravelling of complexity and contradictions in the region’s environmental history and its exploitation.

Echo from the underground: the heritage customization of subway infrastructures in Shanghai\u2019s listed areas

The design of metro stations constitutes a clear example of the new core role of culture in a city such as Shanghai that remains to be assessed from a critical heritage perspective. As an unexplored dimension of a massive heritage institutional apparatus, metro stations act as ‘white canvases’ where commercial, political and cultural messages are displayed. These messages contribute to city branding while simultaneously influencing the perception and interpretation of the historic urban landscape above ground. This research offers insights into the subway stations located in the listed heritage areas of Shanghai and the architectural, artistic and exhibitive resources that ‘give character’ to these stations. The research applies visual methods and discursive analysis based on direct observation of these ‘characteristic’ elements in metro stations. The paper establishes the argument that the amount and distribution of these characteristic elements in the metro network offers unequal representation of the importance of the heritage areas above. When represented, we argue that such features convey renewed narratives of urban identity according to an authorised heritage discourse in Shanghai. These narratives cater to an image of ideal, harmonious continuity between the past and the future that aims to characterise Shanghai as a Chinese global metropolis.

Spatial relationship between green view index and normalized differential vegetation index within the Sixth Ring Road of Beijing

Urban green space (UGS) has been recognized as a critical urban landscape design element. The green view index (GVI), as an indicator to quantify the perception of green landscape from the pedestrians’ perspective, has been widely used to evaluate the quality and aesthetic ecosystem services of urban green spaces. Therefore, to quantify the quality and regional differences of urban road greening in the horizontal or vertical dimensions within the Beijing Sixth Ring Road, this study analyzed the spatial pattern of road GVI at different levels, including at sample points, roads, and counties, and evaluated the differences in road GVI in different urban functional zones in 2014. Based on the geographically weighted regression model, this study further analyzed the spatial heterogeneity between road GVI and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). The results showed that the average road GVI at sample point level, road level, and county level within the study area were 17.2 %, 15.3 %, and 15.7 %, respectively, which were overall relatively low. The road GVI between adjacent ring roads from inside to outside showed an obvious regional difference. The ranking of average road GVI in different functional zones was as follows: tourism zone (15.68 %) > residential zone (15.12 %) > service zone (14.70 %) > cultural zone (14.22 %) > commercial zone (12.35 %). Road GVI showed a significant positive correlation with NDVI but spatial heterogeneity existed. Research on the spatial characteristics of urban road greening is helpful for urban planners and managers to plan and design urban road greening more accurately and effectively.

Проблемы восприятия лингвистического ландшафта

The article describes the problems of perception of linguistic landscape. The concept of linguistic landscape is clarified, its components are described, and the communicative impact of the urban environment on a person is evaluated. The author identifies the communicative factors and linguocultural elements of the linguistic landscape. The communicative elements of the urban environment are analyzed on the example of Kaliningrad region photo materials collected in the framework of the scientific project "Linguistic landscape as a mechanism of state policy: socio-cultural and communicative aspects".

빅데이터를 활용한 섬 관광지의 경관 특성 분석 - 신안군 박지·반월도를 대상으로 -

This study aimed to identify the landscape perception and landscape characteristics of users by utilizing SNS data generated by their experiences. Therefore, how to recognize the main places and scenery appearing on the island, and what are the characteristics of the main scenery were analyzed using online text data and photo data. Text data are text mining and network structural analysis, while photographic data are landscape identification models and color analysis. As a result of the study, First, as a result of frequency analysis of Bakji·Banwol-do topics, we were able to derive keywords for local landscapes such as ‘Purple Bridge’, ‘Doori Village’, and location, behavior, and landscape images by analyzing them simultaneously. Second, the network structure analysis showed that the connection between key and undrawn keywords could be more specifically analyzed, indicating that creating landscapes using colors is affecting regional activation. Third, after analyzing the landscape identification model, it was found that artificial elements would be excluded to create preferred landscapes using the main targets of "Purple Bridge" and "Doori Village", and that it would be effective to set a view point of the sea and sky. Fourth, Bakji·Banwol-do were the first islands to be created under the theme of color, and the colors used in artificial facilities were similar to the surrounding environment, and were harmonized with contrasting lighting and saturation values. This study used online data uploaded directly by visitors in the landscape field to identify users’ perceptions and objects of the landscape. Furthermore, the use of both text and photographic data to identify landscape recognition and characteristics is significant in that they can specifically identify which landscape and resources they prefer and perceive. In addition, the use of quantitative big data analysis and qualitative landscape identification models in identifying visitors’ perceptions of local landscapes will help them understand the landscape more specifically through discussions based on results.

Assessing the positional accuracy of perceptual landscape data: A study from Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy

AbstractOnline GIS‐based applications that combine mapping and public participation to collect citizens' voices on their surrounding environment are a way to collect original spatial data that do not already figure in authoritative data sets. However, these applications, relying on non‐expert users, might produce spatial data of insufficient quality for the purpose for which they are collected. This article presents an approach for assessing the positional accuracy of vague landscape features, using the results from a map‐based survey completed by a group of volunteers in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of Italy. The spatial section of the survey, gathering both georeferenced data and textual information on the mapping activity, allows the assessment of whether there is a correspondence between the mapped features and the intended map locations. The findings reveal a greater accuracy among participants in completing the mapping activity relating to degraded sites than to those of beauty.

Influence of agricultural experiences on attachment and conservational attitude toward agricultural landscape and understanding farmland amenity

At present, decreasing farmland due to the shortages of farmers and the devastation of agricultural landscape are becoming grave concerns. Farmland serves several multifaceted functions as a green space, and its conservation is therefore essential. In this study, we aim to elucidate the effects of various agricultural experiences on the perception of agricultural landscape. Accordingly, an interview of university students was conducted in the form of a survey. Attachment, awareness of conservation, and an understanding of the multifunctional role of farmland itself are some of the aspects that were interviewed. To reveal the effects of agricultural experiences beyond a single day’s interaction, lifetime experiences were targeted in this research. Several agriculture-based categories were extracted from individuals' experiences using text analysis. It was found that agricultural experiences positively affected the perception of farmland, suggesting that the types of landscapes that give rise to feelings of attachment differ depending on the individual's own categories of experiences. Additionally, it was suggested that when these experiences were accompanied by knowledge acquisition, the understanding of farmland amenity was also positively influenced.

Local public authorities’ and French mainland landscape advisers’ perception of landscape in Mayotte Island: The issues of quality of life in a developing region

The European Landscape Convention (ELC) has affirmed and legitimised the role of the landscape in the quality of life of people, emphasizing the importance of both remarkable and ordinary landscapes. Therefore, the convention should ensure that landscape issues are taken into account everywhere - in rich and poor regions and in different cultural contexts especially where the term ‘landscape’ does not exist in the local languages. We choose to study Mayotte, a French Overseas Department off the east coast of Africa, characterised by a particular territorial context with similar issues to those of the countries in the Global South. The aim of our research was to reveal how the concept of landscape is understood and defined by local public authorities and their landscape advisers and the extent to which the wider framework of the ELC is relevant to encourage landscape to be effectively taken into account in land use planning. Semi-structured interviews with 14 key stakeholders (local authorities and landscape advisers from mainland France) brought to light different ways of understanding the term ‘landscape’, and different approaches for including the issue of the landscape in land use management. The results show how integrating the issue of landscape can improve the quality of life in a poor region especially through the adoption of landscape tools. This adoption is still characterised by a top-down approach in which the French legislation and State services play an important role but which nonetheless clearly highlights the potential of these tools to coordinate a territorial project.

The fractal dimension of Islamic and Persian four-folding gardens

Since Benoit Mandelbrot (1924–2010) coined the term “fractal” in 1975, mathematical theories of fractal geometry have deeply influenced the fields of landscape perception, architecture, and technology. Indeed, their ability to describe complex forms nested within each other, and repeated towards infinity, has allowed the modeling of chaotic phenomena such as weather patterns or plant growth. Some human-designed patterns such as the ones developed by Islamic cultures have been found to follow similar principles of hierarchy, symmetry, and repetition. However, the application of these principles in the design of gardens is an underexplored field. This paper presents a comparative exploration of the four-fold garden design model—the chahár-bágh—typical of Persian and Islamic garden design by analyzing two case studies: Taj Mahal and Isfahan’s city plan. This four-fold pattern is known to not only have a religious reading but to be also linked with ideals of fair distribution. Using an innovative compositional fractal analysis inspired by architecture, our results demonstrate that these gardens contain a high level of self-replication and scale invariance and that they exhibit a high fractal dimension. The novel application of this method of analysis to historical landscape plans allows us to assess to what extent fractal concepts were already in use before the European Renaissance and Mandelbrot’s explorations, and to speculate on their symbolism in the context of Islamic and Persian garden design. Specifically, we conclude that the fractal characteristics of these gardens might be intended as a representation of the infinite divine but also of principles of fairness and equality. Moving forward, this approach could be applied to design spaces, namely in the infrastructural design of the urban fabric, which are both meaningful and environmentally just.

Towards Sustainable Urban Landscape Management: Floridians’ Perceptions of Residential Landscapes and Their Maintenance Requirements

This 5-page fact sheet written by Hayk Khachatryan, Alicia Rihn, Xumin Zhang, and Michael Dukes and published by the UF/IFAS Food and Resource Economics Department is the first in a series from the Sustainable Residential Landscape Project, a study conducted in 2016 to address perceptions of landscapes in Florida, different factors that could influence the adoption of more sustainable landscape options, and ways to promote sustainable landscaping options. The Sustainable Residential Landscape Project was funded by the UF/IFAS Center for Landscape Conservation and Ecology (CLCE).

Anthropogenic relief changes in a long‐lasting lignite mining area (‘Ville’, Germany) derived from historic maps and digital elevation models

AbstractHumans constitute one of the main geomorphological agents in modern times. As an example, post‐mining regions represent a typical landscape of the Anthropocene. Strong relief modifications are particularly obvious with open pit mining. However, many existing mining areas are lacking detailed pre‐mining information for the quantification of anthropogenic relief changes, which is a considerable challenge in regions with historic mining activities.Here, the Ville (Rhenish lignite district, Germany) is used to quantify surface mining induced relief changes in one of the oldest and currently largest lignite districts in Europe. Historical maps from first geodetic mapping in 1893 enabled construction of a historic digital elevation model to quantify the relief changes in comparison to elevation data from 2000 and 2015. The vertical accuracy of the historic data is remarkably high, with relief differences < 2 m in areas not affected by mining. In total, 49.2% of the investigated area (184 km2) shows a relief deficit and 14.5% has positive relief differences. Absolute changes account for more than 80 m heightening (dumpsites of overburden) and lowering of the natural relief (pits). Besides these altitudinal changes, overall steeper slopes are significant for the new topography, but levelling exists likewise. The spatial variabilities are discussed in the context of the regional geology and the mining techniques.Undoubtedly, such large‐scale anthropogenic relief changes persist for a very long time and will last as a human legacy far into the future. Only the detailed reconstruction of the pre‐mining relief offers the ability to clarify the dimension of humans as geomorphological agents and to understand landscape perception. Due to the fact that the impact of open pit mining has such a large vertical and horizontal extension, their consideration as part of anthropogeomorphology can significantly contribute to support future Critical Zone research in the Anthropocene.

Identifying the stimulus of visual perception based on Eye-tracking in Urban Parks: Case Study of Mellat Park in Tehran

ABSTRACT Urban parks that provide the context for relationships between people and nature could be good cases for studies and analysis of visual perception in the everyday landscape. The main goal of the research is to evaluate the people’s attention to the primary factors and landscape elements in urban parks. Accordingly, out of 59 regional and trans-regional parks in Tehran, ten major parks were selected as case studies. The main elements of the landscape were extracted and classified based on the Fundamental Values and Factors of Landscape (FVFL). An experimental study was designed to track the eye movement of park visitors, using portable eye-tracking glasses. The results showed that the most effective motivation during visual perception in the experiment was human-made factors with an average of 59.12% of total fixation duration. Besides, the average of fixations duration on natural factors, human activities, and behavioral factors was 20.65% and 20.23%, respectively.