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Chapter Five Aesthetics and landscape
5.1 The aesthetic quality of the water environment is central to public perceptions and attitudes, and fundamental to aesthetic values is the concept of 'landscape', which has multiple, often contested, definitions. In this chapter, 'landscape' is treated as an integral element in the perception of a water environment, and, as Yamashita (2002, 3) notes, "water in the landscape tends to be dominant because of its visibility, its movement, reflections, and colour, its consequent contrasts to adjacent earth surfaces."
Scotland and UK
5.2 Academic literature concerned with the construction of landscape in Scotland is plentiful, with a variety of conceptual approaches apparent (see, for example, Mitchell, 2002; Smout, 2001; Warren, 2002; and Watson, 2002). From a political-historical perspective, Rohde (2004) illustrates how the multi-faceted concept of landscape mediates cultural, social and political issues, and is continually evolving in response to aesthetic, ideological and institutional agencies. Using the Highlands of Scotland as an exemplar, he discusses community involvement in the construction of landscape.
5.3 From a more practical perspective, Somerville et al (2003) discuss the assessment of the aesthetic quality of a selection of beaches in the Firth of Forth. They surveyed fourteen beaches during 2002 and discovered that the aesthetic quality of rural and urban beaches was very similar. Litter was seen to be a crucial indicator of aesthetic beach quality.
5.4 Describing the groups inhabiting a river valley in the south of England, Strang (2005) considers how engagements with the water environment are experienced and interpreted within a specific cultural context. She discusses cultural differences in the meanings attached to the aesthetics of a water landscape, and water's myriad of aesthetic qualities. For example, water can be presented as a dangerous or regenerative force ("a matter of life and death", Strang 2005, 115); as the substance of spiritual and social identity; or as a symbol of power and agency.
5.5 An SNH-commissioned landscape perception survey, involving 516 telephone interviews with the Scottish public, found that respondents had little understanding of the marine landscape beyond the obvious fact that it includes the sea (George Street Research, 2005). However, in contrast, another SNH survey to assess the sensitivity and capacity of the landscape in relation to offshore windfarms, found that Scottish seascapes - "an area of any extent or scale which includes the sea as a key feature" (Scott et al 2005, 2) - are renowned and valued for their natural heritage.
Europe
5.6 Examples of European literature which tackle the importance of aesthetics and landscape to the perceptions of water environments include Goetgeluck and Priemus (2005), who provide evidence from the Netherlands, where they demonstrate that the aesthetic qualities of water add a high property value to residential environments. From an economics perspective, they suggest added (monetary) values to an area of 10-15% for the seashore, 5-10% for river locations (streams), and 5% for lakes.
5.7 From a Norwegian perspective, Kaltenborn and Bjerke (2002) discuss the associations between environmental value orientations and landscape preferences. They ask why group differences in landscape assessment exist and recognise distinctions between anthropocentric, ecocentric and apathetic orientations toward the environment. Preferences for local landscapes and environmental value orientations were surveyed in a sample of the adult population of Røros, in southern Norway. The highest preference was expressed for wildland scenes containing water, followed by cultural landscapes (landscapes representing or evocative of local culture) and traditional farm environments. Landscapes with elements of modern agricultural practices were the least preferred category. Significant positive correlations were found between the ecocentric environmental value orientation and a preference for wildlands with water and for cultural landscapes. The anthropocentric value orientation correlated positively with a preference for farm environments, while environmental apathy was negatively associated with a preference for wildlands and cultural landscapes.
5.8 Cemagref have conducted research into perceptions of landscape, management and nature to inform policy engagement in France. More widely, the EC survey of European citizens demonstrated how values assigned to landscape vary with country. The idea of "green and pleasant landscapes" was mentioned most often by Cypriot citizens at 30%, for instance, while France had the lowest result (5%) for the same item ( TNS, 2005).
Global
5.9 Research from a number of quite different cultural contexts is described in this section, indicating the variety of texts on the topic. Two Japanese studies were reviewed which offer interesting findings on differing perceptions of landscape with implications for planning. Firstly, Yamashita (2002) compared the perceptions of a Japanese river environment from the perspective of adults and children. Investigating the perception and evaluation of water in the landscape, participants were asked to take pictures of their environment and record their description of each scene on-site. Both perceptual and evaluative dimensions, such as the type of stream view chosen, the percent of water surface in a picture, the rate of selecting water as a subject for photography; and verbal descriptions of water features, were analysed. The study concluded that if adults are to be the dominant viewers of a landscape, appropriate arrangements of mid- to long-distance elements and dynamic aspects of water should be more significant in landscape planning. By contrast, when children are to be the main users of an environment, planners need to focus more on short-distance elements, including water, especially on its quality. In a second Japanese study, Asakawa et al (2004) analysed the perceptions of urban stream corridors within the greenway system of Sapporo. Neighbourhood residents' perceptions of the stream corridors were surveyed using a questionnaire, and a census of the vegetation along the stream banks was also taken. The results indicated five important factors for stream perception: recreational use; participation; nature and scenery; sanitary maintenance; and water safety.
5.10 The impact of aesthetics and water landscapes on property values was the subject of a New Zealand study by Bourassa et al (2004). Several dimensions of aesthetics were analysed: type of view, scope of view, distance to coast, appearance of immediately surrounding improvements, average quality of landscaping in the neighbourhood, and average quality of structures in the neighbourhood. It was found that wide views of water added an average of 59% to the value of a waterfront property but that this effect diminishes quite rapidly as the distance from the coast increases. The conclusion reached was that aesthetic externalities are multidimensional and can have a substantial impact on residential property values.
5.11 Haider and Hunt's (2002) Canadian study of the visual aesthetic quality of Northern Ontario's forested shorelines explored the relationships between scenic beauty and biophysical characteristics of the forested shorelines in the boreal forests. Tree size, tree mortality, conifer shrubs, tree density, amount of hardwood, and slope explained 60.2% of the variance in scenic beauty between the study sites. All variables influenced perceptions of forested water environments.
5.12 In terms of research undertaken to inform policy-making, the Australian programme at the CSIRO Tropical Ecosystems Research Centre (2006) shows that the northern Australian landscape provides a wide range of uses and benefits that are valued by
people, and this full set of values should be incorporated into environmental policy. CSIRO continues to conduct environmental research, with a current focus on tropical rivers and river landscapes.
5.13 Additional relevant international texts which also emerged during the literature search include Gimblett et al (2001), who investigate landscape perceptions of the Colorado River, USA; and Piegay et al (2005), who explore public perceptions of wood in rivers for restoration purposes. This study, again based in the USA, suggested that 'riverscapes' with wood are less aesthetically pleasing, more dangerous and needing more improvement than riverscapes without wood.
Summary
5.14 Abundant evidence, from academic and policy-sponsored sources, illustrates how fundamental are aesthetics and landscape to perceptions of the water environment. Indeed, it is widely shown that "water is one of the most important aesthetic elements of the landscape" (Yamashita 2002, 3), adding high value to an outdoor environment.
5.15 Individual perceptions of aesthetic qualities vary according to landscape composition (for example, the presence of wood), socio-demographics, and the cultural background of respondent. As Warren et al (2005, 867) note, "landscape values are notoriously subjective."
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