Project leader
Dr. S. (Sjerp) de Vries (email / info)

Fellow researchers
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Duration
1 year (2008)

Goal
(Better) nation-wide mapping of the attractiveness of the Dutch landscape according to the local population, with a higher level of spatial detail than is possible by means of surveys (high cost effectiveness)

Keywords
Environmental psychology, rural planning, rural landscape, perceptions, landscape valuation, GIS, modelling.

Summary
Offering citizens an attractive landscape to live in is one of the most frequently mentioned landscape services. However, policy instruments to implement this relatively new goal are still largely lacking. One of the problems is the subjective nature of landscape appreciation: also when it comes to landscape, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. However, it appears that to a large degree many ‘beholders’ appreciate similar aspects. This project focuses on identifying physical characteristics of the landscape that influence its appreciation by the local population. Furthermore it tries to operationalize these characteristics in the form of a coherent set of GIS-based indicators. Such indicators can subsequently be used to predict (average) landscape attractiveness. The project aims to refine the already existing GIS-based Landscape Appreciation Model (GLAM). At the moment the model is still too crude to evaluate most policy measures. As a first step, secondary data analysis will be performed to identify where and when the present version of the model goes wrong. Models such as GLAM help to democratize the landscape, by bringing ordinary people’s preferences into play, rather than those of experts and policymakers.

Presentations
Towards the development of GLAM version 3 - May 2009
First steps towards the development of GLAM version 3 - November 2008
SELS Update Presentation Improving GLAM - June 2008
SELS Proposal Presentation Making GLAM rock - January 2008

Publications
No publications yet

Website
www.daarmoetikzijn.nl

Links
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